


The monster's ID (Forbidden love)

by siriala



Category: Actor RPF, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Bigger age difference, Bottom Jared, Community: spn_cinema, Inspired by a Movie, M/M, Mention of dub-con pairing, Minor Character Death, Top Jensen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 18:05:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 58,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12917331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siriala/pseuds/siriala
Summary: Eighteen years without seeing another human being than his dad, and then Jensen appeared…As soon as the ship and her proud captain showed up on Jardina 4, it was love at first sight for Jared. But his dad was not as happy about his choice for a lover, and even less about the danger lurking that could very well kill them all now that it had been awakened by the Arcadia.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2017 spn_cinema challenge on LJ, this is inspired by the 1956 movie [Forbidden planet](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049223/). My version is also set in the Star Trek universe.
> 
> I worked once again with eprimacol who created wonderful art that inspired me a lot in my writing. Pictures finally embedded but please, keep going to [the artist's LJ](https://eprimacol.livejournal.com/3670.html) to tell her how beautiful her artwork is.
> 
> Huge thanks to my incredible beta honscot who worked with me till the last minute and never complained when I kept sending her chapters after chapters, working her usual magic. Thanks to the mods too for organizing the challenge and for amnesty posting since I'm way late !

_Nothing discloses real character like the use of power._ Bob Ingersoll

 

"Captain, the ship's decelerating. We're down to less than half power…"

A shrill ringing cut the helmsman mid-explanation.

"Mr. Olsson, I'm listening," Jensen answered his chief engineer's call.

"The warp core looks as dead as a fish out of water, sir," Ty's voice shouted over the obvious brouhaha going on in the machinery. "Warp's gone. The atmosphere processor is also toast. We need to land and give me time to make some repairs."

"Alright, Mr. Olsson," Jensen accepted and ended the call before he turned to his comm officer. "Ms. Cortese, find us a planet in close vicinity. Breathable air and pretty scenery would be appreciated. Then contact the government and tell them the Starfleet starship Arcadia requests permission to land. And don't take no for an answer."

"Of course, sir," Genevieve replied with a smile.

Less than five minutes later, Gen caught his attention again to say she had found just what they needed, and there was no government to entice or convince to let them use their facilities.

"A small community of scientists from Earth settled on Jardina 4 about twenty years ago, Captain. They should be happy to see new faces and hear from their original planet."

"Very good, Ms. Cortese. Hail them and let them know we're coming."

Jensen turned to more pressing matters until Genevieve reached out to him again.

"Captain, the man I'm talking to says we can't land. That the planet's not safe."

Jensen turned to his science officer.

"Mr. Harrington, have you detected any kind of danger ?"

Adam finished sweeping the planet before he shook his head.

"None that I can see, Captain. But the situation looks peculiar : I can only detect two signs of human life on the ground. Unless others are hiding below the surface, under scan-proof constructions, most of the colonist scientists are nowhere to be found."

"When did the colony last contact the Federation ?"

"A few months after their arrival, sir," Gen answered. "Nothing seemed amiss, and they were all decided to make it work and not to depend on Earth anymore. That's why the Federation never tried to reach them again. That and the fact that this region of space is considered subpar in regards to commerce, tactical exploration or ore mining."

"Very well. I want to talk to who might be one of the last survivors of the colony. Put him on screen, Ms. Cortese."

After playing on her console, Genevieve nodded and Jensen rose from his chair to face the big screen.

"I'm Captain Ackles from the Federation starship Arcadia. Our ship has sustained heavy damages and we need to land on Jardina 4 for repairs. Please answer and identify yourself."

The screen remained blank on the other side. Genevieve indicated with a raised eyebrow that she couldn't do anything about it.

"As I've already told your lieutenant, Captain, you can't land here," the man responded, ignoring Jensen's demand. "I'm sorry for your troubles, but coming to Jardina 4 would only mean more of those, the dangerous kind you definitely want to avoid, for both your ship and your crew."

"I need more than that to alter my ship's course, sir. Be more specific."

"Wish that I could, but you'll have to accept my word that this is not a safe environment. Pass your way and forget about us."

Jensen felt his patience getting short with the man's voluntary cagey attitude and answers. Even without the need to land, his instincts were telling him there was a mystery to investigate down there.

"Sorry, sir, but without more information, this is not an option. We'll be arriving in…" Jensen turned to Ensign Miner to get an estimation, "one standard hour and fifty-two minutes. I'll expect to meet you soon. Ackles out."

The screen returned to a view of the surrounding space, a breathtaking supernova taking more than half of the upper left quadrant. Jensen hardly saw it as he took in the information Genevieve had forwarded to his PADD.

"Mr. Harrington, you have the bridge. I need to talk with Admiral Beaver."

 

 

"Dad !" Jared cried out, "you have to let them land !"

"No, I really don't. I told you how dangerous the planet can be. You know it. Do you wish all those men and women to die horribly, just like your mother ?"

Jared bit his lips, properly chastised.

"You know I don't," he answered in a conciliatory tone. "But we haven't seen the beast in forever. _I_ have never seen it. I'm pretty sure it's dead, and the ship needs to land. You heard the captain."

He felt a smile take over his face at the simple memory of the dreamy man he had just caught a glimpse of on the screen, despite his dad's best try at hiding the communication. Misha had alerted him that an Earth ship was approaching fast and Jared wasn't about to miss his one and probably only chance of seeing other human beings. Especially if they were all as gorgeous and attractive as the young captain.

His lips were so full, his face thin and beautiful. Jared wondered how he would look smiling, eyes glinting with mirth.

"I can't prevent them from landing if they really want to," his dad continued, "but I don't want you to mingle with them."

"Why ?! I want to know them. You and Mom, you chose to come on Jardina 4, but I'd like to be given a choice too. I want to see the Earth someday, and meet other people, make friends. Maybe even find someone to love, like you found Mom."

"I understand, Jared, but it might not be possible. You know I only want what's best for you, so trust me when I say nothing good would come out of your socializing with Starfleet men and women. Either they will leave soon, or they will be dead even sooner."

Jared felt almost ill at the idea of something bad happening to Captain Ackles.

He had no intention of following his father's advice. He would meet the starship's crew, and he would do everything in his power to protect the beautiful adventurer who would set foot on his home planet shortly.

Time to make himself look as good as possible.

"Misha," he yelled as he went back to his bedroom.

 

 

Ersatz coffee in hand – they had long run out of the real stuff, too many coffee junkies on this crew and not enough pit stops in good places – Jensen waited for Gen to patch him through.

As soon as Jim appeared on screen – his usual lovely, grumpy self – Jensen realized it was probably late in San Francisco. He winced as he took a look at the clock.

"Jensen," Jim growled, a palm against his face that didn't seem to know if it should try and wake him up or just hold it up, "I hope this is one of those calls that couldn't be delayed."

"Sorry, Jim," Jensen answered out of pure politeness.

Back when Admiral Beaver was just a ship captain and Jensen his first officer, Jim and he had spent years doing what they had to do to keep their ship and crew alive and kicking. Beyond a few lost minutes or hours of sleep, Jim understood better than anyone the necessities and dangers of space travel. He trusted Jensen to know when to get in touch, be it to ask for guidance or discuss an already-hatched plan with his former mentor. The fact that Starfleet encouraged this kind of over-the-years bonding, to stimulate team spirit, esprit de corps, or whatever you called it, was only icing on the cake. Jim and he did have that bond, that trust born of surviving more than their share of hairy situations thanks to the other.

Jim sighed.

"So, what's so urgent that it needed my attention at four in the morning."

"Have you ever heard about a scientific mission colonizing a planet named Jardina 4, twenty years ago ?"

"Can't say that I have. Starfleet put together many of those missions through the years. What's special about this one ?"

"Well, for starters, it seems a powerful politician of that time pushed for it to be funded and actually done, contrary to many projects quickly discussed and forgotten. Which already raises questions since the research specifications were interesting but not more so than a good deal of competing projects, and no one in Starfleet ever asked for reports or scientific evaluations over the years. As Genevieve pointed out, this region of space is hardly worth the antimatter to get there, and one has to wonder if the community's goal wasn't to get as far as possible from commercial and tactical roads, especially considering they haven't gotten in touch with their Earth families, pretty much ever since they arrived. So I do wonder if those specifications were just a smoke screen. And who was really pulling the strings in this affair."

Jim looked suddenly far more alert.

"I guess you already have an opinion."

"I can't surprise you anymore, can I ?" Jensen answered with a smile.

"Stop playing cute and answer my question, boy, or I'm getting my old ass back to bed right this moment."

Jensen outright laughed but obeyed.

"We reached out to the colony to tell them we needed to land for repairs – don't worry, we weren't attacked, just went through a bad and entirely unexpected space storm – and were told by some mysterious man to go anywhere else or risk unmentionable danger. Harrington could only find two signs of life on the planet. We were still far away and running on impulse drive, but his reports don't change as we're getting closer. Which means there might indeed be an undefined danger on Jardina 4, tracking and killing human colonists."

"Any idea who this guy you spoke with is ?"

"Cortese dug up dusty archived files and did some comparison. The voice matched with Professor Morgan's."

"Professor Morgan ? What do you… _Jeffrey Dean_ Morgan ?"

"Yeah, _that_ Professor Morgan."

Jim kept watching him as if he had grown a second head.

"Incredible. I thought he was dead. How did he succeed in leaving Earth without anyone the wiser ? Staying out of it for all those years without being found ?"

"Guess such a guy had some pretty high connections and he wasn't afraid to ask for protection the day he decided to disappear."

"You bet. Enough to make the world believe he was dead so that no one would come after him. He had always been described as reclusive, seems he took it a notch further. And what about that second sign of life ?"

"No clue at the moment. Harrington's still on it and trying to find the other colonists."

"Anything about the ship they used to get there ? Her captain ?"

"No. The Cadmus didn't respond to our call. There's a serious chance it's been destroyed if the last colonists stayed on the planet. I'll send another report as soon as we're there and I can see for myself what the fuss's all about."

"Good. I'll do some digging of my own and send you all relevant data concerning Professor Morgan. Stay safe, boy."

"Yes, sir."

They ended the call on mutual warm smiles.

 

 

As Mr. Wester and Mr. Buckley maneuvered to get the Arcadia safely on Jardina 4's ground, Jensen studied the specs sent by his chief engineer. He was concerned that they may not be able to find the necessary materials for the repairs on this underdeveloped planet. Even with the help of one of the greatest human minds of the century, they'd still have to manufacture and replace all the broken pieces and it might take more time than they had in case of a real danger.

They would have to make do anyway, and Jensen had the utmost confidence in Ty's knowledge and abilities. If someone could find a way to get the Arcadia back to full form, Ty was it. Jensen's job was to facilitate his task. He just hoped that Professor Morgan and the other colonist Harrington had detected would be eager enough to see them leave soon to help in their endeavor.

"Mr. Harrington, no change since your last report ?"

"Not really, sir. Still only two complete signs of life, but there's a small energy radiation close to them that I need to study. Nothing dangerous anyway. Atmosphere adapted to humanoids, flora sketchy in this area, but more abundant in the direction of Professor Morgan's base, and occasionally edible."

"Okay, let me know when you find out about this radiation. Ms. Cortese, anything from Professor Morgan ?"

"Nothing, sir, but there's a vehicle approaching fast, also from the direction of Professor Morgan's base. No answer yet to my calls."

Jensen hit the comm.

"Lieutenant Harris, take five men and wait outside for the local vehicle."

"Aye, sir, on my way."

"Oh and Harris, we're trying to make friends, here."

"Of course, sir," Dann answered like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Of course. Jensen had had a briefing with his senior officers moments before they arrived and Dann had been the most wary of them all. Difficult to say if it was the nature of her job or the Theodolin part of her genetic heritage showing. Probably both. She was definitely a consummate professional, but her facial stripes had gone redder with each piece of news about Jardina 4 and the missing colonists.

"Captain," Genevieve spoke up, "Doctor McKinney is waiting for you at the stairs."

"Very well. My comm will be on the whole time, alert me if anything seems off to you. I mean anything."

"Yes, sir," Genevieve and Harrington answered at the same time.

Jensen got into the turbolift and down to the ship's entrance in no time. As announced, Gil was waiting and welcomed him with a smile.

"Has Harris made contact yet ?"

Gil indicated the screen behind his back.

"Vehicle still in approach. It should be here in less than a minute."

Jensen observed the planet while waiting for their visitor. The sky was constantly changing, moving colors and clouds. It felt like a storm was brewing but nothing else confirmed this visual impression. On the contrary, all telemetry insisted that the weather was at its best. Jardina 4 seemed to like to make a show of herself.

Jensen's attention turned back to the speedy little truck-like vehicle as it made its final approach in complete silence. It came to a quick halt that didn't seem too brusque for its occupant – dampeners probably, protecting everyone inside the hull – and remained hovering about ten inches over the ground.

A man emerged and immediately saluted Dann. Aged somewhere between 35 and 45, he didn't match any of the pictures of the original colonists that Jensen had seen, even after taking into account the twenty years passed since then.

"I'm Lieutenant Harris," Jensen heard Dann greet the newcomer, phaser down but ready to stun if necessary, "security officer of the Arcadia. Please identify yourself."

"Of course, Lieutenant. I'm Misha, and I'm here to take you to the professor's home."

"Are you talking of the man who didn't want us to land ?"

"I am not aware of that fact. I've been told to bring your representative back to the house. Would that be you, Lieutenant ?"

Jensen dialed the code opening the hull. The stairway appeared and rolled out, down to the ground, as all eyes turned to him while he and Gil descended the few steps leading to the planet.

"No," Jensen said, "that would be me. I'm Captain Ackles, I command this ship and, in this place, will be the voice of the Federation of planets Starfleet represents."

"Very well. The professor wishes to meet you, Captain. Please be so kind as to take a seat in the hov'speed."

"The doc will accompany us," Jensen said with a nod towards Gil.

"Very well," Misha repeated.

There was something off with the man that kept Jensen from asking more questions. He didn't seem concerned by any potential danger. It was possible Morgan had sent him to protect the ship and his crew and prevent them from running directly into the unknown threat, but Jensen wasn't convinced the man cared enough for this. Better wait and see, and ask the professor directly.

"Permission to come with, Captain ?" Harris tried eagerly.

"Sorry, Dann, I need you here. The ship's much more important to protect."

"Then at least take two of my men."

Jensen considered the offer and couldn't find any reason to deny his officer's proposition.

"Okay, but I want them experienced and keen observers."

Dann turned to the security team waiting close.

"Buckmaster, Fergus, you're with the captain."

"Yes, ma'am," both answered, detaching from the group to get into the vehicle.

"Stay alert, Ms. Harris," Jensen finally told Dann. "We don't know what this danger is the professor warned us about. Post guards all around the ship and run full sensor scans every ten minutes."

"Aye, Captain. We'll take good care of the Arcadia and her crew while you and the doctor are vacationing."

Jensen sent her an amused smile, knowing Dann was just yanking his chain and that she would do everything in her power to keep everyone safe. Reassured, if not completely at ease, he got into Misha's vehicle after the doc and gave him the okay to leave.

But Misha stayed put. Jensen turned his head to see what was bothering him and immediately found the culprit.

"Captain !" a young, disheveled blond man ran to the vehicle.

"What it is, Mr. Murray ?" Jensen asked with the patience of a saint. A slightly annoyed one.

"Please, try and trade for goods while we're here. I know I'm a miracle worker, but even I have my limits and everyone's tired of synthetic food. I need fresh products to cook your crew's meals and we haven't boarded anything new since Proxima."

"I doubt such a small colony can help a big ship like ours much, Mr. Murray, but I'll be sure to ask."

"Thanks, Captain."

The short trip to Morgan's home was spent in silence, the doc and Jensen recording through their PADDs everything they could while Buckmaster and Fergus, taking their mission to heart, observed all along the road, hands on their phasers.

The house looked mostly cubic at first glimpse, a one-story, white-painted construction flanked by unknown vegetation hiding the fact that an extension prolonged it in a semicircle form right behind the entrance. As soon as they were all out of the vehicle, Misha led them in. Jensen told Fergus to wait at the door when he saw the hov'speed driving away on its own, without a driver, probably back to its garage. Everything was too silent in this place. Jensen often got this feeling when they landed, even on Earth ; most of the time, he basked in the gentle and discreet hum of the Arcadia surrounding him like a cocoon and it always took him two or three days to get used again to not hearing it. It was possible it would last longer here, with the knowledge that there seemed to be only two survivors of the original expedition and some unclear danger looming around.

Jensen exchanged a look with Gil. The doc knew to be alert, constantly scanning the area for more human beings or any other signs of life. Jensen had his own PADD on and the information directed to his earpiece, but he wouldn't be able to translate the data as well as a biology and anatomy specialist such as Gil.

Inside, the house looked as lovely and well-kept as they could have imagined, given their first impression of the outside. Plants and flowers in all colors and shapes covered walls and tables, belying the desert aspect of the planet around the ship and along the road. This was a house lived in and loved.

Jensen spotted immediately the man standing up to acknowledge their arrival. Despite the twenty years passed, he recognized Professor Morgan. The scientist had become even more attractive, if possible, than Jensen's PADD had led him to believe through old photos and press articles.

A much younger and quite tall man waited next to him, a true and large smile on his very handsome face. He was dressed only in shorts, miles of tanned skin offered to the newcomers' gazes as they took in his broad chest and long legs. In return, his eyes never left Jensen as they approached.

"I'm Captain Ackles, and this is my CMO, Dr. McKinney, and Ensign Buckmaster. Please forgive our intrusion. The ship encountered a strange meteor storm, thus the need to land and make some repairs. We're very grateful for your invitation."

Jensen offered his hand to gauge their host's goodwill.

"You're quite welcome. I never doubted your words, Captain, but I wanted you to be aware of the danger."

The men shook hands.

"Captain, Doctor, Ensign, welcome to Jardina 4. I'm Jeffrey Dean Morgan."

"Professor Morgan, this is an honor. Your findings have always been one of the highlights of my studies."

"You're too kind, Captain. I'm sure during all those years spent far from Earth and the federation of planets, many have come up with better works than mine."

"Not really. A brilliant mind like yours cannot be replaced easily."

"Thanks for those words. Now Captain, let me introduce you to my son, Jared."

 

 

The young and so very handsome captain offered his hand to Jared with a smile.

"Glad to meet you, Jared."

Jared took his hand and refused to let it go. This close, the man was even more beautiful and Jared wanted to keep looking into his eyes forever. Even the handsome doctor at his side didn't register next to him.

"Captain is too formal. What's your first name ?"

"Jared, I brought you up better than this !" his dad exclaimed.

"There's no offence, sir," the captain assured before he turned back to Jared. "My name's Jensen."

"Jensen," Jared repeated. "I like it. It suits you. And I like you. I never imagined that the first human being I'd see would be the most handsome man ever."

Jensen laughed at those words, and so did his friend the doctor.

"You're too kind to me, because surely the title belongs to you."

"Nah, I'm too tall and lanky."

"You'll fill out sooner or later, don't worry. You'll get only more attractive, mark my words."

"Dad says the same, and that I have to be patient. But also that I eat too much."

"Seems normal at your age."

"I'm not a kid anymore ! I'm 18, it makes me a man."

"Forgive me if I offended you, it was not my intention. My mother always said that sending me to the Academy was the best decision ever because she didn't have to feed me anymore. I was 18 back then."

"Will you tell me about your studies, and everything you've seen ?"

"Jared," his dad rebuked him but there was no real heat in his words, "our guest isn't a free library for you to pick up."

Once again, Jensen didn't seem annoyed at all by Jared's straightforwardness and he answered with a gentle smile.

"I'm not sure we'll have time to go over everything but I'd be happy to share some of my personal memories if you'd like that. With both of you, of course," Jensen added with a nod to Jared's dad.

Jared loved his dad, really, but he didn't featured in his plans about seducing Jensen Ackles.

"Dad works a lot, he probably won't have time to spare."

"I do work a lot," his dad said, "but not so much that I can't take the time to welcome our guests properly and show them our findings."

"Findings ?" Jensen enquired, curiosity written all over his face.

"It appeared soon after our arrival that Jardina 4 had once been the home of another race, and I'll be happy to show you what's left of their very advanced society."

"I'm eager to see this," Jensen replied, seconded by his CMO.

Misha came in then, holding a plate of synthetic food. Enough for a small regiment, which meant their guests – Jensen was the only one Jared really cared about – would be able to stay and have supper with them.

"Dinnertime, Professor."

 

 

"Captain, Doctor, will you please do us the pleasure to share our meal ?" the professor offered.

"This is very nice of you…"

Jensen watched as Misha laid the plate on a nearby table. And then it struck him. Harrington had only mentioned two signs of life, and there were three men living on the planet, two of which they couldn't identify. Jared's presence was explained by his being born on Jardina 4, but Misha's was still a mystery.

"We'll be happy to accept your invitation," Jensen changed the refusal he had been about to utter. "Can I use the restroom before ?"

If Morgan knew he was looking for a way to get privately in touch with his ship, he didn't show it. Then Jared was the one to take his arm and drag him further inside the house towards the restroom.

Jensen didn't trust the walls to keep the sound of his voice inside the room so he used his PADD to send a written message to his science officer and then washed his hands while he waited for the answer that didn't take long to arrive.

_"Still only two life signs. Everything's alright here, repairs underway, Mr. Olsson complaining as usual. Have a good dinner."_

Jensen got out of the restroom to find Jared waiting for him a few steps away on an observation deck over the nearby lake. Night had fallen over Jardina 4 during their discussion and the two enormous moons they had seen in full color upon arrival had been joined by two more, all of them glinting to cast different lights on the planet. Jared's face was illuminated as well, a light breeze playing with his hair, and Jensen was loath to speak and end the spell of this magical moment.

"Is there anything as beautiful as this on Earth ?" Jared finally asked.

"I can think of a few places, and not only on Earth. Though I guess the one where you were born and lived your first years always holds a special place in your heart."

Jared turned to him.

"I'd love to see those places with you. Don't get me wrong, I had a good life here, but I've always wanted to see more. Is there any way to convince you to take me back with you ?"

Shocked, Jensen couldn't help asking the first thing that came to his mind.

"What about your father ? You would leave him alone here ?"

Jared looked at his feet, the very image of awkwardness.

"I know, I feel terrible asking you this, but what else can I do ? I'm 18, and your ship is the first one to come around since I was born. You might be my only chance to ever see something else than Jardina 4 and to meet other people. I… I know I can trust you, I feel it. You won't abandon me on some other backwater planet after ridding me of my possessions, nor will you let me fend alone for myself once on Earth. And maybe, if I show him how serious I am, then my father will decide to come back with me."

Jensen turned his face back towards the moons' display, looking for an answer that didn't come.

"I don't know what to tell you, Jared. You've spent your life here, that's all you've ever known. What if life on Earth is too harsh for you ? Too… populated ? What if you want to be back on Jardina 4 but you can't because no ship is going to come back anytime soon ?"

"Then at least I'd have given it a try. If I let you go, I will always regret it."

The fact was, Jensen could very well understand him but this was too big a decision to make in a few minutes.

"Listen, we're not going anywhere for the time being. Think about it again, talk with your father, and then, when the ship is repaired and we're about to leave for good, if you still want to come with us, I'll take you in. Are we okay ?"

Jared nodded, eyes glinting with tears and the reflection of the moons. He took Jensen's hand and led him back to the dining room where the other men were waiting for them, already sitting at the table with a glass of some greenish liquid in hand. They took their seat at the table, Jared next to Jensen of course, his chair that smidgen too close.

"Jensen likes our moons," Jared announced before he took the two glasses from Misha's hands, one of which he offered to Jensen.

"This is good, you're gonna like it !" he said as he took a sip from his own glass. "No alcohol, just the fruit."

Jensen looked to Gil for confirmation that the beverage was innocuous before he tasted it. It was syrupy, but not overly so, and it felt refreshing. Jensen let Jared see with a smile that he indeed appreciated the local drink.

"Misha," he asked suddenly, "are you human ?"

"That I am not, Captain. I was created and brought to life by Professor Morgan."

"So what are you ? Social or industrial android ? Both ?"

"I could say Misha's like my second son," the professor intervened. "He's the result of my and my wife's life work, and practically invulnerable. We were able to create him thanks to the planet's very special metals and elements. His primary function is to take care of Jared, to protect him, but I succeeded, over the years, in expanding his duties and personal aptitudes."

"What do you mean ?" Gil wondered.

"Let me show you. Misha, take the ensign's hand in yours."

The android obeyed immediately, abandoning the tray he was still carrying to serve the guests, and instead caught Briana's hand in his own. The ensign tried to take it back, but to no avail.

"Now crush it," Morgan gently ordered.

"What ?!" Briana worried in a startled shout that had Ensign Fergus running in from his outside watch.

Already prepared to move, Jensen was up and ready to shoot the android in a second, quickly followed by the doctor.

"I wouldn't try it, if I were you," he advised.

"Your phasers, or any other kind of laser-based arms, can't do anything against Misha, Captain. Please, be seated, and let the experiment unfold."

"This is my last warning, let Ensign Buckmaster's hand go !"

But even as he said the words, Jensen observed that Misha's face seemed to get slowly distorted and his ensign never cried in pain.

"Briana ?"

"I'm alright, Captain. Stuck, but alright."

Everybody but Professor Morgan was focused on Misha's weird dimorphism brought by the epic battle he seemed to be fighting against some unknown entity. The poor guy was obviously suffering as the distortion raged and led him to take on several different faces, quicker and quicker.

"He's a shapeshifter," Gil murmured, shocked.

"Dad, that's enough !" Jared exclaimed. "You know he won't stop until you give him the order. He's gonna fry himself !"

Morgan waited for another long moment before he told Misha to countermand his order. The android instantly let go of the ensign and relaxed, his face going back to his usual appearance.

"See, Captain, Misha is a highly evolved android. He was brought up to obey orders, but also to understand the difference between good and bad ; he is able to make a choice based on subjective reasoning, but will always protect human life, at the expense of his own if need be. As Jared said, he would have fried himself rather than hurt Ensign Buckmaster."

"That's impressive," Gil admitted. "Is he susceptible to decay and death, like any of us ?"

"No. The shapeshifting ability you witnessed is a by-product of his complete auto-repair capacity, just like his aptitude in synthetizing more than 90 % of the molecules known to mankind from crude and raw material. He is the one who prepared this dinner and I'm sure you'll agree with me that he's got a real talent here that would make him a fortune on Earth."

"You just described the perfect husband, Professor," Jensen joked. "Diverse, indefatigable, a potentially very rich chef. Every man should feel threatened."

The audience laughed, except for Jared.

"Is that what you're looking for in a companion ?"

"Not really, no. No offense, Misha."

"None taken, Captain."

"The truth would be that he's not looking for a companion, at all," Gil added in a laugh. "He's already married to his ship."

Once again, Jared failed to share everyone else's enjoyment of the good-natured teasing. He was still pouting when Misha finished filling the plates and left the room.

"Now please," the professor said, "enjoy your meal."

The visitors soon all agreed that Misha's cuisine was particularly good, the taste subtle and original. The conversation kept to light and easy topics until all plates were once more empty and Misha had brought dessert.

"Can I ask you a personal question, Professor ?" Jensen decided to go forward.

"Please, do."

"Our files about the expedition don't mention you being married or waiting for a child, so I guess you began a relationship with one of your fellow colonists. Can you tell us who Jared's mother was ?"

"There's no great mystery there, Captain. My wife was…"

"Adrianne Palicki," Jared cut him. "She was an incredibly talented biologist, and a wonderful woman."

Jensen recalled easily the tall blonde woman with a gentle smile he had seen in the old files, and he felt sad that Jared's words seemed rehearsed, the mere repetition of what his dad had told him about his mom rather than a real knowledge of the person she had been.

"Jared is right," Morgan approved. "She was the best woman I've ever met. Coming to Jardina 4 was our mutual project. We got married during the trip when we discovered she was pregnant, and then Jared was the culmination of our love."

"Was she killed by this danger you warned us about ?" Gil asked.

The professor nodded.

"She was the last one, months after the other colonists. Jared wasn't even two years old. Not old enough to remember her. How much she loved him. She died protecting him."

Jared's hand found his father's and squeezed it.

"My wife was the one who named my son. She called him Jared in honor of our new home planet. She loved Jardina 4, the peace we had searched for and found here, and it still breaks my heart to think this is where she got so violently killed."

"Did you ever think of going back home after her death ?" Gil asked.

"Not really. This is Jared's birthplace, and it seemed the killings happened every time one of our colleagues tried to get back to our ship. I couldn't risk it, not with Jared unable to defend himself. Then with time, I managed to reach that peaceful state of mind again, and I realized Jared was better here, protected by me and Misha, far from Earth and its inherent violence."

"But you're alone," Ensign Buckmaster couldn't help highlighting, and she continued when Jensen didn't stop her. "What if something happens to you ? Forgive me for saying it this bluntly, but you're not getting younger. Jared will definitely be alone, without help, the day you die."

"That may be so, but I taught my son to be self-reliant. He doesn't need other people's approval to be himself or feel happy. And when the day comes for me to die, he'll still have our work here to occupy his time, and Misha to take care of him."

"Your work ?" Jensen prodded, deciding to let the matter of Jared's life lie for the moment and avoid kicking that hornet's nest after what the young man had asked of him.

"I'll show you another time. But let's just say that Jared is probably more learned than all of you put together. He could easily replace your science officer thanks to the breadth and depth of his learning. With no distraction and the lessons I custom tailored for his very bright intelligence, he succeeded in only a few years to get to a level I myself didn't reach until long after him."

Jared was blushing bright but also seemed rather happy with the compliments. Jensen ignored the image his mind supplied showing the young man in the blue uniform of a science officer, walking confidently around the Arcadia's bridge to get to his captain and give Jensen the information he needed. It sure would be a drastic change after Harrington's style. Adam was great at his job, but his personal skills were close to that of a gnat. Jensen couldn't imagine anyone among his crew not liking Jared.

It didn't look like such a farfetched dream. Starfleet would be eager to put its hands on someone of Jared's caliber, the son of a genius, raised and taught by him. No doubt that, were Jensen to relay the information that Jared Palicki-Morgan had asked for his help to get to Earth, the admirals back in San Francisco would tell him to stop being stupid and bring him back at the earliest opportunity.

"I'm not surprised," Jensen answered, turning towards Jared in the hope he would be more talkative, "you had seriously good genes to work with, from both sides. So what kind of work are you doing here ?"

Jared opened his mouth but was cut by his father before he had time to reveal anything.

"Captain, as glad as I am to see your interest in our work, the day has been long, and the answer would take far too much time. But Jared and I would be very happy to see you again tomorrow and try to explain what you might understand."

"That's so very kind of you," Jensen said with as little irony as he could. "I'm sure a man of your intelligence is able to explain anything, even to intellectually challenged people like us. We accept your invitation."


	2. Chapter 2

The trip back to the Arcadia went much faster as Jensen called the ship to ask for teleportation. Harrington was there when they showed up, waiting for him with Dann and Ty.

Ty came to him first, eager as always to learn about potential new features to add to his already long list of engineering tricks, and though he tried to look casual, he was in fact fooling no one but maybe the young ensign working the transporter on this shift.

"So, found anything interesting ?" the engineer asked.

Jensen had a vivid flash image of the young and beautiful Jared, that he pushed away to focus on his crew. Even as tempted as he was to tease Ty for a while, more serious considerations had to prevail.

"Sorry, Mr. Olsson, nothing yet to report. We're going back tomorrow, we may get more lucky."

Jensen turned towards his other officers.

"Ms. Harris, Ensign Buckmaster will relate to you this evening's events. I'll let you decide if you want to be the one to come along tomorrow."

Saying this much was implicit authorization for her to accompany them, which had probably been on her mind since their landing.

"Aye, Captain," Dann said as she gestured for Briana and Adam Fergus to follow her back to her office.

"Doctor, Mr. Harrington, Mr. Olsson, please come with me."

Jensen left the room, followed by his chief officers right to his own office.

"Mr. Harrington, you'll come along tomorrow morning," Jensen ordered as soon as they were alone. "The professor has agreed to show us his work and I bet the topic will be more to your liking than Dr. McKinney's."

"Do you have any idea about the kind of work he's been doing here ?"

"No, but considering what little we did see tonight, beginning with a very advanced android, I'm sure there's a lot more for us to uncover."

"I'm looking forward to it, Captain. Thank you for the opportunity. Doctor, I hope you won't be too disappointed."

"I'll live, Adam, don't worry about me. But please, do tell me afterwards if our valiant Captain had to rescue some damsel in distress. Or maybe, I don't know, seduce a young man ready to be picked by the first man he's ever seen ?"

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean, Doctor."

"Let him be, he thinks he's funny, even though I personally find it rather sad that the professor's son never had a chance to meet other beings before us."

"So the other colonist I detected is Professor Morgan's son ? Is he an android ?"

"No. The child, Jared, he had with another scientist of the colony, Adrianne Palicki, who sadly died along all the other colonists. The android, Misha, they created together too, but this is a different person. I'm not sure if you were unable to detect him because he was hidden somewhere or if he's impervious to scans. This is one of the things I want you to find out tomorrow."

"Very well, I'll come prepared. Did you find anything else I need to know ?"

"We were told the planet had once been populated by another race who left a lot of interesting stuff behind when they disappeared. This is what the professor is going to show us tomorrow. You'll need to record as much as possible so that you and other technicians can work on those findings later."

If he was not mistaken, the professor was exactly the kind of man to show them the most spectacular stuff in order to hide the most interesting. They would have to remain alert and open-minded to make sure they would not miss the most valuable technology.

"I could come along too," Ty suggested.

"I'd like that, Mr. Olsson, but your place is here as long as the ship needs your tender love and care. Be sure that your input will be required to analyze everything we come back with, once you're done with the repairs."

Ty agreed with a disgruntled groan, but Jensen knew he loved the Arcadia too much to really mind being stuck here.

"Before you go, I need you to have one of your ensigns prepare a portable long-range communicator for me, one of the older models, set to my private frequency. I'll take it with me tomorrow when we go back to the Morgans'."

Ty nodded and said good night before he left, and Jensen was ready to bet he was walking right back to engineering, whether he was still on shift or not.

Harrington left soon after, leaving Jensen and Gil to talk about what had transpired during the evening at the Morgans'.

"You spoke alone with Jared," Gil began, "what did you think of him ?"

"Are you looking for something specific ?"

Gil thought before answering.

"I can't help but feel that something's amiss between the father and the son. Or maybe something… I'm not sure how to put it without sounding dramatic, but their relationship doesn't seem healthy to me."

"Are you talking about child molestation ?"

"Maybe. I told you, I don't know. I can only go with my instincts and the facts : two men, alone for about sixteen years far from any human community, one of them completely at the mercy of the other because of his age and emotional dependency while growing up. In this situation, it would be easy for an adult to convince a young man to share unwanted intimacy."

"I didn't feel anything of the sort, but I'm no specialist and I wasn't looking for it. Jared did ask me for passage to Earth, but I didn't interpret it as the demand of someone desperate to get away. On the contrary, he hoped to convince his father to follow him, but he's prepared to leave alone if need be. He's reached the age when we all need to see the world. Jardina 4 has become too small for him, it's time for Jared to get on with his life."

"But he didn't tell his father ?"

"Not yet."

He couldn't help but worry now that Gil had spoken of his doubts aloud. He tried to remember everything Jared had said during their private conversation, to see it through the peculiar lens of Gil's questions.

"Jared really didn't hint at anything of the sort. Morgan is certainly very protective of his son and his planet, not the most welcoming man this side of the universe, but I don't see him raping his own son."

"Well, I'll take your word for it, and I know you'll keep a close eye on this. Are you really going to take him to Earth ?"

"I haven't said yes, merely asked him to think hard about it, and talk with his father. But I don't really see how I could refuse if he still wants to go the day we leave. It'd be like condemning him to a life sentence for a crime his parents committed."

Gil agreed, offering no further comment before he left in his turn.

After checking with the bridge and making sure everything was in order, Jensen fell asleep with pleasant images of a smiling Jared shamelessly flirting with him. He was even probably dreaming of the young man when the red alert resounded, blaring into the night to warn all decks about some kind of danger inside the ship.

Jensen hopped into his shirt, pants and boots before he ran towards the place where whatever trouble had triggered the alarm, constantly communicating with Genevieve for information. But she knew little to nothing : cameras were blind, mikes deaf. There was no way to know what was really happening in the engineering section. If anyone was hurt, maybe dead.

Jensen felt his heart squeeze at the thought of Ty, his stupidly brave friend who would do his best to protect his machines and even more for his men, even at the risk of his own life.

"Gen, can you find Ty ? Do we know if he was still down there ?"

"I can't get him to answer, sir, and he's not in his own room or anywhere else that I can reach."

Jensen finally got to the engineering section, only to find it closed. A few ensigns were trying to force the hatch open with overriding codes, until the moment Jensen ran out of patience and ordered them to get out of the way. Phaser in hand, he took the time to cut the door open enough for a man to slide in.

By the time he was finished, Gil had joined their party, ready with three nurses to deal with any injury. With a pat on his captain's shoulder for good luck, he accepted Jensen's order to wait here and watched him step in first, followed by all the crewmen that had been there with him. Jensen gestured for them to go in different directions by groups of two men, signaling to Ensign Carroll to follow him.

There was nothing but silence to greet them. Silence and emptiness, the generally busy area devoid of technical personnel. They searched the whole section, only to find wreckage in a very sensitive point, the interstellar transmission center. Its remains were smashed or torn, another thing to repair, and the first proof that there was indeed something bad lurking on this planet.

But Jensen didn't care that much about machines. They still had no clue about what had happened to his men.

"Ms. Cortese, still nothing from Mr. Olsson or anyone else down here ?"

"Nothing, Captain. But Ensign Miner discovered a slight disturbance earlier that shows the entry point of whatever wrecked the IT center, and she also recorded the end of that disturbance. Mr. Harrington thinks the threat is over for now."

"Okay. Scan the area anyway, and search for any sign of life."

"I will…"

Ensign Miner's voice cut Genevieve's.

"I got them, Captain ! Twenty-two signs of life closely stuck under the tubular nozzle right in front of you."

The nozzle was quite enormous, indeed allowing for many men to hide, but Jensen was at a loss as to how they had gotten there. And why they couldn't communicate with the hidden crewmen when they were so close. Only the long-range transmission center had been destroyed, local communications shouldn't be impacted.

Jensen got closer, sinking to his knees to try and hear something.

"Mr. Olsson !" he yelled, but got no answer.

Save for a kind of tap coming from the floor, repeated over and over in clear sequences that reminded him quickly of Morse code.

"Anyone knows Morse ?" he asked around.

Ensign Devaney came forward and kneeled beside Jensen.

"What do you want me to say, Captain ?"

"Get out, threat's over."

It was kind of sad the ensign's heavy accent couldn't translate through Morse code, Jensen thought with an amusement he didn't entirely feel until one of the floor slabs lifted up so that Ty's smiling face appeared and his own brand of accent was heard.

"Hi, Captain ! Nice of you to visit our little corner of the world."

"Hope you won't mind I brought some friends. Including the doctor," Jensen answered as he helped Ty and then the other hidden crewmen to get out of their hole.

"Not at all, Captain. I reckon Ensign Sampson might have use for the doc's hospitality tonight. Right, Kendrick ?"

"Yes, sir," the young man answered with a grimace of pain.

Jensen was not surprised to find Gil hardly three feet behind him and coming closer as soon as he saw the injured technician being lifted from the very far end of the hiding place, cradling his arm against his torso to protect the bone protruding out of his mangled skin and bloody shirt.

"No one else's hurt ?" Jensen asked while Gil and one of his nurses settled Kendrick Sampson on the gurney.

Gil began to take in the injury and instructed Nurse Tigerman to give the injured man a shot of analgesic after checking his file for potential allergies. They left soon after the hiss of the hypospray, offering anyone who had bruises or bumps to heal to follow them.

"Don't try to play at being brave," Ty encouraged his crew. "We just got more work on our plates after tonight, so now's the time to get better ! Everyone's expected at work tomorrow at dawn. Sharp !"

That got everyone moving, most of the men trailing behind Gil right to the infirmary.

"Ensign Devaney," Jensen called the young man back, "someday you've got to teach me that Morse code."

"Of course, Captain," the ensign answered with a proud smile.

"Good. Now you heard your boss, go get some rest."

"Aye, Captain. Good night."

Ty waited until Devaney and his friends were too far to hear before he turned toward Jensen with a smirk.

"It's a good thing I know he's not your type, Captain, because I clearly remember you and I learning Morse code in the same class. I wonder what happened that you can't remember any of it now and need Devaney's help."

"I might have taken that class to meet someone special at that time, and I also might have been somewhat distracted during it."

"Yeah, courting Professor Lea. Yet you were scary good with Morse code by then."

"Only enough to land him in my bed. I kind of forgot everything about it as soon as we were over."

Ty snorted, massaging his right arm.

"Seriously, man, what happened ?" Jensen asked. "Are you alright ?"

"Nothing too bad, I'll let the good doctor check on me after we've debriefed."

"Okay. Sit down anyway, and show me that arm."

Ty complied and found a seat for both of them before he rolled up his sleeve to let Jensen take a look. There was nothing but a bad bruise one of Gil's nurses would heal fast and easy.

"So, how did you get that ?"

"Would you believe me if I told you I don't know ?"

"I know you better than to dismiss your story but I need more than that."

"And yet I can only tell you so much. The guys and I, we were working hard to put this beauty back to her perfect state, and then we heard a cry and the sound of someone hitting a wall or something. Two more times it happened, and then I was the one flying over some pipe like I was a rag doll standing in the path of a house. When I got my bearings back, there was nothing to see but my men scattered around, and luckily only Kendrick injured. We regrouped and tried to hunt down the thing that had blown us around the machinery, and still nothing. But then we heard it, the grating noise of torn metal. I saw it with my own eyes, Jensen. Machines punched and torn apart by invisible hands. And I realized we had better not get in the way of whatever was doing this, because there was no chance we could fight back. So I got my men to hide where you found us, and I managed to dampen the sounds and create a bubble around us to prevent communicators from going off and alerting that thing about our position. Thinking you'd remember Professor Lea's class."

Ty came to the end of his explanation with his eyebrows raised.

"It seems you had the privilege to meet Professor Morgan's terrible threat."

"Looks like, and it's worse than we could have imagined. I'm pretty sure this thing knew what it was doing, Jensen. What I'd like to know is how it managed to get on board without triggering any alarm before it found what it was looking for."

"It might have appeared directly in the engineering room. The bridge found something, we'll have to debrief with Harrington and Miner to know exactly what."

Ty's smile got pleased.

"That little spitfire ensign you keep stuck on the bridge ? I'm gonna debrief her right now."

"Not so fast, Casanova. You go and see the doctor first."

"Aye, Captain. I'll let the next shift know what to do first, and then I'll go. And you need some rest, too !" he added as Jensen walked back to the bridge to debrief his officers and try to come up with a way to protect the ship and crew.


	3. Chapter 3

As he watched Jensen leave with his officers, Jared had the strangest feeling that he shouldn't let him go. He knew already that Jensen was his future, and the fear of being left behind was sickening.

He reminded himself that Jensen couldn't go anywhere right now, his ship damaged and stranded.

Even then, the first thing he did as he woke up was check with Misha that the Arcadia was still grounded.

He would never admit to the insane amount of time he passed gazing at the security films to catch Jensen's adorable smile. Worse, he would never talk again to anyone suggesting how long it had taken him to choose sexy shorts for the day, only to dismiss them on the way to the lake.

Bathing in the natural pool and basking in the sun – B&B, as his father liked to put it – was Jared's favorite time of the day. Nothing better than to feel the caress of the water and sun on your skin, alternating between the two different but just as erotic pleasures. With an amused smile, Dad liked to call him a hedonist, a pleasure-seeker, and let him enjoy his time while he descended to his lab, working with the same determination despite the passing of months and years without anyone to share his achievements with, besides his son and his android.

Jared was tired of this life. He was done. He didn't just want to follow Jensen and get a chance to know him better, more intimately. It was more than time for him to leave the nest and see the world, whatever his dad might think. He didn't want to look ungrateful, but he was sure there was more in store for him than the same exact days repeated again and again on the same patch of land in a part of the universe everybody else was smart enough to avoid. Supposedly at the mercy of a wild and invincible beast who killed humans without remorse in the most horrible way, torn apart like they were rag dolls.

Jared shivered and cast this thought away. Thinking about how his mother had died always put him in the saddest mood, a facet of him he didn't care to show Jensen this early in their relationship.

He preferred to revert to planning Jensen's seduction, all those delicious ideas that had kept him awake a good part of the night. Kissing Jensen, the feel of his skin under Jared's hands, of Jensen's hands on Jared's own skin… Jensen inside him…

He was already half-hard as he took his shorts off and dove into the lake, and the water did little to alleviate his predicament, only hid it, as long as his thoughts remained focused on the young and gorgeous Starfleet captain. But then the pleasure of swimming took over. The temperature-controlled environment – courtesy of the Krell, former inhabitants of Jardina 4 – offered the Morgan household the joys of perfect weather all year long, all five hundred and thirty two days of it. Jared wasn't about to look a gift computer in the transistor case, whatever the old saying had meant in the first place. He knew there were many things they still didn't know about the Krell, but he had long ago decided to enjoy the remains of their incredible technology and he would do so for as long as he lived here – which hopefully wouldn't last now that he had met Jensen.

Accompanied by Harrington and Dann as planned, Jensen showed at the Morgans' a little earlier than they had agreed on the previous night. No one had slept really well after the attack and there might be answers to be found with the locals.

Teleporting themselves right next to the entrance to the professor and his son's house, they found Misha appearing almost instantly to let them in.

"Misha, this is my science officer, Lieutenant Commander Harrington. I thought he would be more interested by whatever it is that the Professor intends to show us today. And you remember Lieutenant Harris, my security chief."

"Indeed, Captain. Welcome, Lieutenants. The professor will come for you in a few minutes, please wait for him and help yourself to any convenience this house offers."

"Thank you," both men answered while Dann nodded.

Harrington just had time to sit on the only, hard-cushioned couch, before Misha's right arm elongated to take on a different shape. At the same time, his left hand seemed to grow a protuberance that became a colorful cup and was placed under his right wrist to hold the brown liquid dripping from the beak-like protrusion.

Once the cup was full, Misha offered it to a speechless Jensen.

"Captain, you seemed really partial to this beverage last night. Would another cup please you this morning ?"

Jensen could feel himself smiling foolishly, but he refused to acknowledge his security officer's snort. He grabbed the cup eagerly but waited for the mini PADD Gil had given him as they prepared to leave the ship to do its work. Only when he was assured that the beverage was real coffee and contained no drug at all did he taste it again, not caring to hide his pleasure.

"Misha, you're not only observant, you're also a life saver. It does indeed please me very much. Where did you find coffee and are you willing to sell me some of it ?"

"I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't _find_ the coffee. Professor Morgan asked me to recreate it, using molecules available on Jardina 4. Maybe I can teach your ship to do it too."

"We already have synthesizers, but not one that ever proved able to do good coffee."

"At least not for a coffee snob like you," Adam intervened. "Most of the crew is, just like me, perfectly happy with the substitute we're offered."

Jensen grimaced. It didn't feel that way, especially considering how quickly real coffee disappeared every time they got some more. He could only be very grateful to Professor Morgan for having taught to Misha the taste of the real stuff.

"My cook wanted me to ask you for fresh vegetables or any other kind of food, but I don't suppose you're growing much more than the Morgans can eat ?"

"Not much indeed. I can still see if we can spare something for you before you are able to leave Jardina 4."

"That's great, thanks ! I don't want to deprive you of anything, but a happy cook makes for a happy crew."

"If you say so, Captain. I have no experience on this matter."

They watched the robot make his way toward another room before Adam called him back.

"Misha, if you've lived this whole time on Jardina 4 under this mysterious and deadly threat, how come this house isn't more protected ?"

Subtle, Jensen thought. But it might actually get good results with someone as literal and straight thinking as Misha the honest robot.

"The lieutenant is right," Jensen approved, and this was something that had troubled him before. "If the danger the professor told us about is this terrible, how come this house is made of so much glass ? Is there any fortification available to protect you and your family ?"

Jensen metaphorically patted himself on the back when he saw the pleased smile appearing on Misha's face at the mention of his family. This android had definitely developed feelings for the humans he cared for and he loved to be considered one of them.

"This is not glass, Captain. A good imitation, I'll grant you, but nonetheless a very different alloy of Jardina 4's best molecules."

Of course. It might explain why the robot didn't appear on their scanners as a life form but a mere energy radiation, if some of the molecules he was made of were still unknown, the Arcadia machines therefore not calibrated to look for them. Jensen made a note to himself to change that, to make sure they could track Misha just like any other inhabitant of Jardina 4.

"Let me guess : you created this ?" Jensen asked, indicating the non-glass window bays.

"I merely engineered it. The professor and Jared came up with the perfect formula."

"Really ? Is Jared assisting the professor in all his work ?"

"Most of it. But he also has his own projects. As the professor told you last night, young Jared is very learned, and his intelligence might surpass that his father."

"I sense you're just as proud of him as the professor is."

"I am. Jared is someone you can't help but be proud of."

They shared a smile that Harrington quickly interrupted.

"Can we come back to the matter of your non-glass walls ? Have you tested them against this elusive force ?"

"We haven't, but we ran every test we could think of, and nothing managed to come through. Not even close to scratching it a bit. We're definitely secure inside these walls."

"Would you agree to tell me more about their making ?"

"Of course, Commander. The two most widespread Jardinian metals are J22 and J58 – named that way because of the order they were found by the first colonists. They're made of molecules of…"

Jensen tuned him out, confident that Adam would remember and make notes of everything Misha would teach him. He was more interested by the noise he had heard again – someone swimming out there – and the confirmation through a furtive glimpse that Jared was the one exercising in the beautiful body of water almost completely masked from his point of view by bushes and trees.

"Adam, Dann," he interrupted the ongoing conversation, "I'll leave you in Misha's expert hands. I'm going to greet our host."

Without waiting for an answer, Jensen got out of the house through one of the huge patio doors bordering the whole north wall, made of this alloy Misha was telling them about, and followed the water sounds until a gap in the garden's luxurious vegetation offered him a perfect view of the whole lake.

And there he was. Jared, powerful arms slicing through the blue, almost translucent water, long mane sticking to his skull, save for a few strands, every time his face emerged to take a necessary breath. Now and then, another mesmerizing display stole Jensen's breath away, the one of Jared's naked ass showing out of the water for a short, heavenly moment. A display that made Jensen loath to interrupt him.

Jared eventually reached the edge of the lake and stopped for a moment. He used a hand to get his hair out of his face and the water out of his eyes, and then smiled when he realized what a captive audience he had.

"Jensen ! I'm so glad you're here !"

"Aren't you wearing anything to swim ?" Jensen answered, his voice somewhat strangled.

"Why would I do that ?" Jared laughed. "It would get wet."

Jensen had to smile. It appeared Jared was as logical as he was shameless when it came to displaying his gorgeous body. And Jensen couldn't even pretend to care, unless it meant other people than him got to see the boy too.

"I guess you make your own rules on Jardina 4, but you should know that not all beaches and swimming pools on Earth tolerate nakedness."

"Really ? Why is that ? Is it considered dirty ?"

"I rather think people in bad shape don't want to be reminded there are those fitter than them. You would be bad for their self-worth."

"Why Captain, I think this is the kindest thing you ever told me ! Tell me you're taking me to Earth and my life will be complete."

"I don't know. Can you pay for your passage ?"

"You're terrible. Think of me as your ship's entertainer. Let your crew come and see me, I'll keep them happy."

Jensen wondered if Jared was really as naive as he seemed, if this remark was completely innocent of all the innuendos he would have joked about with anyone else. Undecided, he erred on the side of caution.

"The crew is supposed to be working, Jared."

"Not all the time. I'm sure they spend a lot of time watching you. You should swim naked too, it's obvious you have nothing to hide."

"I prefer to keep a modicum of modesty and mystery."

"Why ? Do you have a small cock ?"

Jensen spluttered.

"I'm more than well-endowed, thank you very much."

"Then why don't you come swimming with me ?"

Jared was an evil temptress and Jensen couldn't help eyeing the outlines of his body still masked by the water, feeling heady at the idea of approaching such tanned beauty.

"That is not why I came here. We came back to see your father as we said we would last night. Tell me where to find him and I'll let you get back to swimming without disruption."

Jared sighed.

"You're no fun. Okay, let me get dressed, since my body seems to bother you, and I'll take you to him."

Jared didn't wait for Jensen's approval before he used his finely muscled arms to rise above the pond's edge. Jensen didn't even think about turning away, the display far too beautiful to miss it. Even if it was clear Jared was still doing his best to seduce him since he could have used the steps, only a few inches away, to get out of the water more easily.

Jared looked even taller naked, but this fact only registered for a second before Jensen's eyes, following Jared's towel, travelled down his broad chest to his beautiful cock and balls. His legs were a tad on the skinny side, but nothing a bit of exercise wouldn't make better if Jared ever wanted to. Jensen's mind was suddenly taken over by the image of the younger man sitting on his dick, rising and descending repetitively thanks to his thighs getting always more powerful as they made love again and again.

He couldn't help blushing when he realized Jared had stopped drying himself and was looking directly at him with a satisfied grin, body still on full display. The kid was relentless and he damn well knew what he was doing !

"Are you the one in charge of the garden ?" Jensen asked absently, turning his eyes away to land on some pretty alien flowers.

"Yes, with Misha's help. He does most of the backbreaking work, like turning the soil over and getting roots out, since he can't actually break his back. But I do everything else and conceive the plans. We succeeded in acclimating most plants my parents and their colleagues had brought from Earth, as well as the few animals."

Even though the colors and shapes of the plants were attractive, Jensen's eyes didn't obey him for long and they returned to their new favorite pastime, watching Jared. Watching Jared _naked_ was even better, and Jensen's eyes settled on Jared's gorgeous ass when he bent to retrieve his short shorts from the bank and put them back on. Knowing Jared was going commando would certainly fuel Jensen's dreams but it would also make it difficult to be next to him without thinking of touching.

Of course, Jensen felt deeply disappointed when Jared's ass and genitals disappeared under the small layer of clothing, already thinking of reasons to have him take it off again. Wishing he could take the time to come swimming with him every morning. Hoping in spite of himself that Jared would decide to leave his planet to travel on the Arcadia long enough to really get to know each other and see where this mutual attraction could go. With his height, intelligence and easygoing manners, it was far too easy to forget Jared was impossibly young, far too young for someone like Jensen. Easy not to feel like a cradle-robber desperately fighting against himself to make the right choice.

Jared probably sensed his turmoil and took his arm to lead him back inside the house, walking close and making sure they were constantly touching.

"Didn't you forget your shirt ?"

"Nope. The day's too hot for a shirt," Jared answered, caressing Jensen's bared forearm. "I would suggest you take yours off, but I know you enough already to guess you won't."

"Not on duty, you're right."

"Does this mean I can ask again when you're off shift ?"

Jensen smiled and simply dragged him on the way to the huge living room where they could hear the voices of Harrington and Misha discussing science.

"Jared," Jensen said as they stopped next to the two men, "this is my science officer, Lieutenant Commander Harrington, and my security chief, Lieutenant Harris. Adam, Dann, this is Jared Palicki-Morgan, the professor's son."

Jared shook Harrington's hand and then Dann's without letting go of Jensen's arm, staking his claim with a fierce expression the science officer didn't seem to know how to translate, whereas Danneel smiled at them with sparkling eyes. She loved to bet on his love affairs, and his relationship with Jared would probably be nothing different for her.

Jensen had to introduce his officers again as soon as the professor finally showed up.

"Excuse my tardiness," he told them all as he came out of his office, "one of my experiments ran longer than predicted. Now if you'd like to follow me, I'll take you to the Krell's chambers."

"The Krell ? Is that the name of the former inhabitants of this planet ?" Dann asked.

"It is, Lieutenant, or at least the closest translation I could come up with that our human mouth and vocal cords are able to pronounce."

"As you can see, I'm half Theodolin. I might be able to come closer to the original sound."

The professor looked annoyed for a second before he relented.

"Why not ? Let's give it a try."

He led them inside the office to fetch from his desk a weirdly shaped recorder that let them hear a monotonous chant, closer to a wailing than words to human ears. Jensen and Jared exchanged a grimace to express how disharmonious the noise sounded to them, but Dann didn't seem to feel that way. As soon as the professor stopped playing the recording, she inflated her throat, like a goiter stricken by large red lines, and managed to modulate sounds eerily similar to what they had just heard. The red stripes on her face grew brighter, their glow prolonged far toward the top of her skull and still visible through the thick red hair attached in a safe bun that would normally hide their ends. Jensen knew she loved to find opportunities to use her Theodolin heritage ; too often, she had to keep it quiet in order to get on with her job, and he was glad for the chance to show there was more to her than enhanced brutal force and alien beauty.

"Krell is not a bad approximation," she decreed.

"How would you say it ?" Jared asked, playful, competition over Jensen forgotten.

Dann's answer didn't feel intelligible to Jensen's ears but it clearly amused Jared, more attuned to the language, and even his father smiled after a while.

"Professor Morgan," Harrington interrupted them, "is that all you wanted to show us ?"

"Captain, I see your officer is very dedicated to his task, if a tad impatient and rude."

"Science is Commander Harrington's religion, Professor. I don't think you'll hold a grudge against him for this."

"I guess I won't. Ma'am, gentlemen, please follow me."

A door opened, at the professor's request, in the far wall. Straight from the floor to approximately three feet high, the opening ballooned after that in a perfect circle, its taller point high enough to let Jared go through more than easily, and the width indicative of a race that surely had been much larger than humans.

"I managed to convert the domotics to understand and obey our language, but please stay close to me. The Krell's technology was far more advanced than anything you ever saw. You probably wouldn't be able to break any device but I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself."

Jensen forced himself not to react once again, even if the professor's marked sense of superiority was fast becoming old and tiresome. The man had been an idol for a long time, but it was now clear that, in his case, great intelligence didn't equal a great person. It was incredibly difficult to understand how such a pompous jackass had been able to raise such a wonderful son.

Led by the professor, they all passed through the door, Jared commandeering Jensen's arm once more.

"Don't listen to my father," he commented. "He's trying to scare you but I've played down these corridors as a child, many times unattended, which means there's really no danger for well-trained grown-ups."

Soon they entered a huge room covered in prettily lighted machines from floor to ceiling.

"This is the main Krell laboratory," the professor explained. "It took me years to decipher parts of this technology, and many of the devices you see here are still a complete mystery to us."

"What about you, Jared ?" Jensen wondered. "Did you make interesting discoveries ?"

"I helped as much as I was able. I love physics, but I'm not a visionary in this field, not like my father."

"I'm sure you're too modest."

"He's merely cognizant of his assets. Jared's talents and interests take him more toward biology and chemistry. He inherited his mother's abilities and has shown more than once how proficient he is in that area through groundbreaking discoveries."

"Didn't you teach him your own knowledge ?"

"I did, of course, as I told you already, but I didn't want him to be a mere copy of his father. I encouraged him to be his own man, to work on his own projects."

"Were you afraid he might surpass you ?" Adam enquired with his customary tact, taking to their natural conclusion Jensen's ongoing allusions.

The question earned him a deathly glare.

"I was nothing of the sort. Jared is a genius in his field, we complement each other."

"As long as Jared is happy in his work," Jensen concluded to end this moot conversation. "So what is this place all about ?"

"Knowledge. Personal improvement. Technological prowess. I told you the Krell were much advanced compared to us, but this is merely a euphemism. Next to them, we're nothing more than children playing with fire. And this room alone proved it to me as I was trying to understand its use. Come, I'll show you. The best way to learn is to practice."

The professor walked to a wall, triggering the appearance of a console and a bench he sat on. The Krell's bottoms must have been far bigger than the ones of human beings as Morgan hardly filled half the bench width. The technology so far didn't seem that farfetched, the style of the room very reminiscent of the one on the Arcadia, save for the colors. Everything here was some shade of blue, the whole set pleasant to the eye and quite soothing. Jensen got the sense of a peaceful race, who enjoyed harmony and structure, and wondered if the professor's findings would confirm this feeling. It was indeed possible that blue hadn't been a peaceful color at all to the eyes of such a different race.

"Come and see," the professor called them all to gather around him.

No moves from Morgan were necessary for a cubic structure to expand from the console, opening up to reveal another strangely shaped form that took place in front of the professor's face. Immediately, the podium behind it was filled with a perfect hologram of the late Adrianne Palicki, so perfect it would have been difficult to distinguish it from the real thing, had it been full size.

"I used this to show my son what his mother looked like, alive and happy. But to the Krell, it was probably more of a learning device for their children."

"How so ?" Jensen asked to keep him talking, although he had a fairly good idea.

"Geometry. Construction. Creative elaboration from simple imagination… the array is vast, unlimited."

The hologram kept on changing as the professor spoke, showing complex figures and imposing buildings, followed by alien views and interstellar displays, each more detailed and fascinating than the previous one, as if Morgan was just warming up and showing off more than a little bit.

"Can we try ?" Harrington interrupted him.

"That you can, yes," the professor answered, and his voice dripped with the certainty that they wouldn't be able to achieve much.

"Captain, may I ?"

Jensen answered with his hand, showing that Harrington could take the seat first. It was always good politics with the man to show him the respect he thought he was due as far as hard sciences were involved, and he wanted to study the professor's reaction to whatever his first officer would be able to achieve. Obviously, Morgan felt quite possessive of his findings, more so than the groundbreaking progress he had made in the first part of his life and offered to the universe at large, and Jensen wasn't sure how much he was prepared to share of the Krell's technology. He might be humoring them with a few parlor tricks, keeping the real stuff to himself.

Harrington sat in front of the console and focused on the device.

"How does it work ?" he asked the professor, and at the same time a blob appeared on the podium.

"You're doing good. Keep focusing on what you want to build. Imagine the details, picture the whole thing in your mind. It will appear in front of you, and from there you can build more, adapt parts, change others. The device is very sensitive, and it has a recording function so you don't have to keep all details at once in the forefront of your mind."

Harrington was following the advice as it came and using it to build his own hologram, a beautiful model of the Arcadia that got more and more precise to the professor's clear dismay. But it was just as clearly taking its toll on Adam, and Jensen didn't want him to get too far into the ship's description, for fear Morgan might make something of specs known only to Starfleet engineers.

"Commander, I think that's enough for a first time," Jensen said in a firm voice that brooked no argument.

Harrington sagged a little bit on the bench and took a few seconds to right himself, energy quite depleted. Then he moved to let Jensen take his place, averting his eyes as if he had failed a vital mission.

Jensen ignored the professor's satisfied grin to take in the device. His intention was to play with the Arcadia too, but the hologram that appeared was definitely human, and pretty even in its unfinished state. Behind him, Jared kind of giggled at seeing himself, or a resemblance of his own face, taking shape and getting closer to the original as seconds went by. Jensen concentrated on his gorgeous smile, white teeth and dimples, pink lips and foxy eyes. There was nothing on the kid's face that he hadn't memorized already, it seemed. Nothing he wasn't lovingly reconstructing, until the result was almost as perfect as Jared himself.

"Very good !" Jared delighted, his hands on Jensen's shoulders.

Just like Adam, Jensen felt his energy level getting far too low and imagined turning the device off to stop the experiment. Immediately, the hologram vanished and Jensen let himself go against Jared who gently rubbed his temple with the smooth pads of his fingers. He would have stayed there forever if it wasn't for the professor.

"Indeed, that's quite an impressive display for a first time. But see how tired you are now."

"Dann, your turn," Jensen offered to ignore Morgan's comment.

"Is that wise, Captain ? I need to stay alert to do my job properly."

"Don't worry," Harrington said, "I'm back to normal already."

Dann sent him a scathing look but she couldn't back down now without looking like she was afraid. She then proceeded to show them all up by creating the most detailed rendition of a powered phaser that looked so true it seemed ready to shoot at Jensen's first officer on her command. A wan approximation of her finger, easily identifiable thanks to her naturally-reddened nails, completed her mind construction as it appeared over the trigger and simulated consistency until Jensen cleared his throat.

She let the hologram go and stood up to look Harrington in the eye once again, but there was smugness written all over her face this time and not an ounce of fatigue. Dann and Harrington rarely saw eye to eye, unless the security of the Arcadia was at stake, and she enjoyed putting him back in his place on his own turf.

"Even more impressive," Morgan said, even though he didn't look happy about it. "Probably due to the fact that you're not entirely human."

"Was our lowered energy the sign that it was powering the hologram ?" Adam asked. "Or is there something else here powering the lab ?"

"I too wondered about that, at first, but then I found that all those panels you see around the room are energy gauges, and they're directly linked to another place I'll show you later. They light up as the machines in there are more or less solicited. Let me show you."

"Perhaps Jared could show us a hologram of his own ?" Jensen suggested.

"I'd like that !"

"No," Morgan forbid. "I've always tried my best to protect Jared from danger, and it begins with keeping him away from this technology."

"Dad, I'm an adult now. There's no more danger for me than there was for our friends. Or you."

"Jared, you'd understand if you were a father like me. Believe me when I say I'm doing what's best for you."

Jared looked down, defeated, and Jensen brought a hand to his shoulder blades in an effort to comfort him. Though he understood why Morgan had tried to protect Jared as a child, it didn't seem that important nowadays, not after trying himself and proving the device was mostly innocuous. But Jensen wasn't a father either, nor did he know the Krell's technology, and he couldn't really come between Morgan and his son on this topic.

Which didn't stop him from trying, of course.

"Aren't you overly protective, Professor ? The worst Jared risks is feeling a bit depleted, just like we did. But maybe he could master this machine the way you do. He's intelligent enough for that."

"Don't you think I know that ?! This device might seem harmless, but this is not the case for all of them. Look at this one for example," the professor indicated an oblong instrument released from a panel as he neared it.

Morgan took it in his hand and a colored gauge painting its whole length got darker shades from this simple touch, the first three colored marks coming to life.

"We all took this one in hand when we first landed on Jardina 4, and all we suffered from it. The worst came to our own skipper. The man thought he was so intelligent he would master the device's power in no time. It killed him. I was young and foolish enough to think I could do more, and better. I stayed three weeks in a coma. Adriane was mad with grief, so sure I was going to die, and that's when the monster first appeared. I was stuck in a bed, unable to help my friends who were dying, one after the other, because of my own arrogance. So I ask you, why would I submit my son to the same risk ?"

"Because obviously you recovered and mastered it ?" Harrington proposed.

"Only because I was lucky that the incident increased my IQ by half, but I couldn't chance it with Jared. You people from Starfleet are intelligent enough, good at what you do, but you're not irreplaceable. You especially, Captain, and that's why every skipper from the beginning of civilization has been taught that he should die with his ship. Your death, while sad, would not represent a great loss for the universe. I dare to think Jared's would."

Danneel came at Jensen's side in a show of unswerving support.

"Did it ever occur to you that it might not be a question of intelligence, but rather a problem of inappropriate technology ? All this was conceived to work for Krell's anatomy, not human's. I know for a fact how highly intelligent Captain Ackles is, so excuse me for not being convinced by your theory. Professor," Dann added like an afterthought, a merely polite title she clearly was not sure was deserved in this minute.

"Highly intelligent he may be, but he's not a scientist ready to make the world a better place. His job is to make his crew work together and send poor bastards to their death in the name of exploration."

Seeing her stripes getting an angry red, Jensen put his hand on Danneel's arm to keep her quiet. Time to shake things up and see what would come loose.

"That's where you're wrong, Professor," he answered with as much dignity as he could muster. "My job is to make sure all my men will come back home, and that the exploration we're doing will serve the greater good. Which doesn't seem to be your goal here, keeping the lid on your discoveries as you do and showing us as little as you can. What is it you're trying to hide ?"

The steel in his voice impressed the professor enough that he backed down.

"Nothing, Captain, I assure you."

"Really ? Because you amuse us with your hologram toy, threaten us a bit with your robot, but I haven't seen anything so far that would require a lifetime of study as you've told us since our arrival."

"The holographer is not a toy !" Morgan said, angered by Jensen's description.

"Really ?" Jensen repeated. "Is this device used to concretize some of your projects ? Or is it merely theoretical and holographic ?"

"It does crossover with building apparatus, but it's an advanced lesson you won't quite be able to master yet."

"But you do."

"But I do," Morgan confirmed, provocative.

"Did you use it to build Misha ?" Jensen spelled it out since the answer didn't come forward.

"It did help, but so did countless other progress I learned through studying the Krell's library."

"Did you ever create other robots ?"

"Why mar perfection ?"

"Is that a yes or a no ?"

"It means Misha is the only robot I ever brought to life, and he's as perfect as can be, so close to biological perfection – rid of most of our defects – that I never had use for another one."

"Is he close enough to biological life that he could use this device to create a hologram ?"

"Of course. I told you, Captain, my wife was an incredible biologist. In the limited time she had, she made the best of the Krell's knowledge."

"I can show you," Misha's voice offered from the lab's door.

"Please, Misha," Jensen answered, bypassing the professor's authorization.

The robot came in and sat on the bench. His hologram was flawless, multi-colored. Each star in the stormy Jardinian's night sky glowed with a different intensity, the first moon's craters precisely drawn, the second one's rings separate and distinguishable. The Arcadia sat on a vast expanse of arid land, only proof of life in the middle of small rocks and high mountains, until a small animal scurried through to take cover under the ship.

"Show-off," Jared mocked the robot affectionately.

Grinning, Misha turned to Jared without his hologram suffering from the sudden lack of attention.

"Misha," Jensen asked, taking advantage of the moment, "is this how you create the things you make with your own body ? Is this the same technology ?"

"Absolutely, Captain."

Jensen turned back to Morgan, planning to get Harrington or Ty to ask Misha for more details later, without the professor's watching them.

"You talked about a library ?"

"Indeed. It seems the Krell were not interested in their own image, you will not find any representation of them, but they did leave many writings all over the planet that I tried to gather here, only a few of which I've already studied."

"Show us."

"What good will that do ? You don't speak or read the Krell's language."

"Professor, I know you think of us as ants you could crush under your sole, but I assure you that my ship hosts many specialists, and if they're not enough, Starfleet will back us up. I might not be irreplaceable, but neither are you in the end. The Earth kept on turning after you left, letting us all believe you were dead."

Jared came forward at these words.

"Dad ? Is that true ? Why would you do that ?"

"I was… kind of a mess when I left," Morgan answered awkwardly. "There were so many demands on me, and it was the same for your mother. All we wanted was to work in peace, but neither Starfleet nor the scientific community, not to mention journalists of all kinds, would grant our wishes. So we resorted to leave and find a remote place where we could do just that, with a few likeminded friends. But for it to work, we needed to make people believe I was dead. So we kind of… faked my death. None of the foster families I had lived with cared one way or the other, I didn't have any close friends who would mourn me for long outside of those who made the trip with us to Jardina 4. This was the only solution to finally be allowed the life we wanted."

Jared didn't have to speak for Jensen to understand his dismay and he sort of felt his sorrow. The kid now knew there was no way his father would ever agree to come back to Earth, not after such a confession.

With a sigh, Morgan turned back to Jensen.

"You asked me what I was hiding from you. My whole life has been spent in hiding, and I guess this isn't something you shake off easily. My time here brought a new perspective. I was happy at last, living for my son and my research. Your presence disrupted this peace and I'm sorry I took my resentment on you. But I'm not sure the Krell have anything you need. They had no weapons. They loved to develop their capacities, to teach themselves and others, to learn always more. They were pacifists, and all they desired was to become always better, more self-reliant, be one with their planet. You see, their ultimate goal was to get rid of all machinery. I discovered it only a few months ago, after years of readings and translations."

"What do you mean, get rid of all machinery ? Did they want to go back to a life as cavemen ? Living off of fruit picking and animal hunting ?"

"No, I rather think they found the ultimate machine, the one able to replace all others. The one we all possess : our brain."

"So when you say they were much more advanced than us, you mean they were able to use their brains for… what ? Telekinesis ? Self-transporting ? Telepathy ?"

"All of the above, and more. And I think that's why they built the power source the gauge I showed you earlier is linked to. Follow me, I'll show you. It will became clearer if you see it for yourself."

They passed more balloon-shaped doors until they arrived to a small shuttle in which they took place. Dann was on the lookout, compensating for Harrington's utter distraction as the shuttle sped inside its corridor toward the place Morgan wanted to show them. Jared had taken advantage of the small compartment to sit close to Jensen but his attention was called by the lighting trail outside, and Jensen wondered if Jared had been authorized to go down there before. Probably not often, and not alone.

It didn't seem Morgan was driving the small ship in any way, and the deceleration was quick and smooth. The shuttle door opened instantly to a place so big it reminded Jensen of the cathedrals on Quéman 2, but there the resemblance stopped, for this here had nothing to do with religion. The whole technology on display proved it at first glance.

Blue still dominated, in a darker space whose dimensions Jensen couldn't fathom. It was too huge, too gloomy. Columns of diffuse, pastel colors climbing from the impenetrable depth provided the only light, like bubbly touches of clarity in a murky sea.

It was beautiful, soothing. Even the deep red of what was probably the core of this installation didn't take away from the feeling of absolute peace, nor the gentle whoosh of invisible engines. Ty would kill to get in here and study it all, and Jensen made another note of trying to find a way to give him a chance to do just that.

Morgan took them below, walking along a path that seemed infinite as far as the eyes could see.

"How huge is this place ?" Harrington asked, his voice full of wonder.

"Twenty square miles, ten levels, so high human eyes can't detect where they begin or where they end. And there are many more shafts like this one implanted all over the three continents."

"And it's all properly working, despite the Krell's disappearance ?" Jensen wondered.

"Just like in the lab, everything is self-controlled and self-repaired. You won't even find the slightest trace of dust or a spider's web."

"So your theory is that this power plant and every other were built to multiply the Krell's psychic abilities, their minds tapping on the raw power to get strength ?"

"Maybe. Or maybe it was just destined to be the impulse needed to become something else, to pass onto another plane of existence, which would explain why they all disappeared so suddenly, and so completely. It's a much better theory."

"Than what ?" Danneel asked.

"Than the one about them all killed by the monster," Jensen replied.

He cast his eyes far in the distance and admired the Krell's engine room a little longer. Something in him couldn't accept the idea that this place was linked to the annihilation of an entire race but after this minute of contemplation, he would have to stay always alert to make sure his crew could get back home intact.


	4. Chapter 4

Adam awoke with a nasty headache.

His mind was still full of nonsensical flashes of the night's dreams, images of water splashing high in the sky, fields flattened by some invisible weights, boulders falling down huge hills to create monster landslides. An indomitable fury unleashed over the living world, ready to end it all in order to remain the sole, dominant force.

Adam shook his head to clear it, and then drank what felt like half a gallon of water to rid his mouth of the foul taste of bile. The dream reminded him of those moments of frustration he had had to deal with too often along his studies, and even now, stuck at the second place on the Arcadia that should have been his if Captain Beaver and his pet first officer Ackles hadn't fought and won a needlessly glorified battle over the moons of Djarmeen.

Not that Captain Ackles wasn't adequate at his job. Starfleet had made a good warrior-diplomat out of him, and Starfleet was all about promoting its people. Inspiring others through examples of bravery and success, showing that simple men with no connections could become admiral, or enter the very private club of the youngest captains to get their own ships. But Adam had studied the files of the Djarmeenen battle, and it was clear to him that anyone could have achieved the same results and brought back peace to the quadrant. _He_ could have achieved the same results, if not better ones. It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right moment. No one had ever said life was fair.

No, fair was to acknowledge that the captain had done a great job so far and that he might have earned his place in the end. Fair was biding his time and be the best first officer possible until such time the admirals, back in San Francisco, realized Adam deserved a command in his turn.

He had a good head start now. Adam's genius idea was to go back into the lab when no one was looking, to take a chance with that device Professor Morgan had warned them about. Despite his courage, the captain would never do something so out of the box. And now the evidence that Morgan had lied, or at the very least adorned reality, had been proved since Adam hadn't fallen into a coma ; he had just felt slightly off for a while, but nothing serious enough that people had remarked on it or that it had survived a good night of sleep, save for this persistent headache.

Adam was now comforted in his idea to try and test more devices during their stay, thus removing the need to obtain the professor's work. This would show the Starfleet brass that Lieutenant Commander Adam Harrington was a force to be reckoned with. To this end, he would make sure that some chosen excerpts of his own log got into the right hands.

Adam stopped by medbay before anything else. While he considered the effect moderate, the professor's machines had done a number on him anyway, and even Dr. McKinney's most powerful analgesic couldn't entirely make the ache go away. It would have to be just another one of these frustrations visited upon him that Adam was so adept as ignoring. And life would go on, unaware of his wishes or valor, favoring others while he tried his best to survive and prove his worth.

Bypassing the mess, Adam went directly to work. The bridge was buzzing when the door of the turbolift finally opened on the inner sanctum, and Ensign Miner looked like she was waiting for him as she practically threw herself at him.

"Commander, you have to see this !"

Now well used to her antics, Adam refrained from commenting and followed her to her station.

"What is it ?" he asked in his coolest tone.

"The readings ! The same ones as during the attack."

Coolness forgotten, Adam bent over the scope to study the energy readings the Arcadia computers had recorded during the night. Far enough that no one had felt threatened and the captain had simply ordered to keep track of those faraway energy emissions as well as the force field generated around the ship to make sure nothing was coming through.

Heart beating fast, Adam couldn't help the images of his dream coming back to the forefront of his conscious thoughts as he kept studying the recordings. Something there felt incredibly familiar, and his headache burst alive again.

Jared was champing at the bit when Jensen showed up the next day, impatient to get away from his father and enjoy Jensen's company alone. As soon as the last pleasantries had been exchanged – both men seemed to have buried the hatchet for the time being – Jared turned to Jensen.

"Now you can take me on a tour of your beautiful ship !" Jared all but ordered to get the young officer's attention exclusively back on himself.

"Jared ! I definitely taught you better manners. You should wait for the captain to invite you, if he wants to."

"But Dad, I know he wants to."

Jensen laughed again.

"It's alright, sir. I'm sure Jared would enjoy the visit and I'm quite proud of my ship. You're invited too, of course."

Dad didn't answer immediately, looking as if he was about to agree, and Jared crossed his fingers. No doubt, he loved his dad, but he didn't want him to spoil whatever alone time he could grab with Jensen, especially now that he knew about his father's past and that he had to think again about leaving.

A trill was heard that had Jared smiling with its excellent timing. His dad was due somewhere for one of his many experiments.

"I'm sorry, Captain," he confirmed. "Duty calls, I'll have to take a rain check."

Jared rejoiced inwardly and passed his arm through Jensen's to lead him outside toward the hov'speed.

"Later, Dad !" he threw behind his back as he tried to drag Jensen away quickly and give him no room to change his mind.

"Tell me," he said with a blinding smile to get his dimples to pop out, "how long have you been the captain of this ship ?"

It seemed to work well enough and Jensen stared at them – and maybe a little at his mouth, too, sending a thrill through Jared's whole body – before he answered in a daze.

"This one, less than two years. Before that, I replaced my former captain for a while when he was sick, on a smaller transport ship. Nothing glamorous, but it was a good exercise to learn the ropes. Then Jim – Jim Beaver, my captain – got a well-deserved promotion and I was in turn offered the chance to lead this great crew into deep space and to explore new territories. A dream come true, as a matter of fact."

"Really ? And what kind of other dreams do you still have to fulfill ?"

Jared combined his words with what he hoped to be a flirty fluttering of his eyelashes, but the captain seemed more amused than really entranced this time.

"That's a conversation for the day we'll be closer friends, Jared. Now come, let me show you my ship. And we don't need your vehicle."

Jared forgot to answer when Jensen's hand closed on his bare forearm, sending a deeper thrill all over his body. No one but his dad and mom had ever touched Jared before Jensen – Misha didn't count, not for this, in his part-nanny and part-best-friend position. And it was nothing compared to the feeling of Jensen's skin on his own that he hoped he would never get tired of.

He may not ever become a skillful lover, the kind Jensen had probably frequented before, but Jared would do his best to make his handsome captain see him as more than that before he had to depart : a lifelong lover, a partner, someone he would want to make love to not only because he thought him pretty and alluring, but because he loved him with all his soul.

Jensen got his communicator out and hailed his ship.

"Arcadia, this is Captain Ackles. Two to beam."

Jared didn't really know what that meant. He was still entirely lost in the feeling of Jensen being so close, so warm. He wanted more, longer, forever. He came closer, close enough to fit his own body against Jensen's, and it felt so right when Jensen's arm wrapped around his waist that he hardly realized when his molecules started to dematerialize.

Kara looked up from her console as the captain and another person materialized back on the platform. She felt her jaw hanging down at the display she caught, not wanting to believe her eyes at first.

The captain was definitely not alone, his arm securing against himself a younger, handsome boy. Younger even than herself, she thought with a tiny bit of jealousy. No way would the captain ever look at her like that. She knew he'd never break the fraternization rules anyway, but this fact didn't make him any less appealing, so she kept on dreaming that one day, on a shore leave maybe... But as she watched him like that, another man in his arms, eyes locked together, she realized this might have been one of the most erotically-charged shows she had seen in a long while. One that told her the boy would land in the captain's bed sooner or later, that he would do it more than willingly, and damn that pesky jealousy flaring up again.

When a minute had passed and nothing happened, save for the boy bringing his own arms up to squeeze the captain closer, Kara felt obliged to remind them of her presence. She cleared her throat, as discreetly as she could, and tried to make it look as if she really needed to, but she still managed to startle both men.

The captain turned heavy eyes in her general direction, seemingly still far away.

"Ensign Royster," he acknowledged her at last. "Please let the bridge know that I'm back and that I'm taking Jared Palicki-Morgan on a tour of the ship."

"Yes, Captain. Right away."

The young man grinned at her as they passed her by and she couldn't help responding in the same way. He had the most beguiling smile, natural and honest, and she was beginning to understand why the captain had seemed so enthralled with him.

She watched them leave the transporter room – not a bad view either from behind – still closer to each other than two men usually tended to be. She watched as long as she could, and then turned back to her console with a contented sigh. The captain would always remain a distant fantasy but she wouldn't forget the daydreaming material she had just been gifted with.

Jensen couldn't help feeling foolish as he recalled the way Ensign Royster had looked at him and Jared. So much for playing it cool and aloof ! Holding Jared in his arms was enough for him to forget where he was and what he was supposed to do, and he wouldn't be surprised to find knowing smiles on his crew's faces in the near future.

He didn't really understand what was happening to him when it came to Jared. He had had more than his fair share of pretty boys and girls in his time, but ever since taking command of the Arcadia, he had made sure to calm down and become the epitome of the perfect captain, choosing for his private affairs people he knew to be after the same thing as him. He had no time for feelings and attachments, not beyond the great friendships he had made on board, and didn't care for foolish and needy lovers.

But Jared made him want, made him foolish and needy.

The visit was somewhat too quick, and Jensen was taken aback by how much it annoyed him to have to share his time with Jared. It seemed everyone wanted to meet the son of Professor Morgan and welcome him warmly, share with him incredible stories and try to get great ones out of him in exchange.

Jensen also felt strangely proud to see that the initial interest for Jared's father soon turned into a genuine one for the son and his own accomplishments. No one made it as clear as Ty who dragged Jared inside his machinery after only a few minutes and asked multiple times for his opinion about the repairs, ignoring Jensen's attempts at getting him away.

Having a virtual stranger inside the engine room caused a distortion right now between his natural inclination to trust Jared and the need to protect his ship that had been drilled hard and deep into his brain by every instructor at the Academy. He wished to be upfront, with Jared himself and as a representative of the Morgans too, and knew he couldn't, so that the current repairs had provided him with a good excuse to keep him out of the machinery at first.

"I'm sorry we can't go any further, but these areas are condemned right now to non-relevant personnel. Even I have to announce my visit to get in after the monster's attack."

This was of course a way to test Jared about the monster's appearance, and the boy's reaction was all Jensen wanted it to be.

"You've been attacked by the monster ?! When ? Why didn't you tell me before ? Is anyone hurt ?"

Jared's hands automatically landed on Jensen's chest as if needing to make sure he was still whole and uninjured.

"One of my ensigns got a broken arm," Ty's voice behind Jensen's back responded, "but nothing worse happened, and it disappeared as swiftly and as mysteriously as it appeared."

Ty came to stand next to his captain and offered Jared his hand to shake.

"I'm Ty Olsson, chief engineer of the Arcadia. It's a great honor to meet the son of Professor Morgan."

"Thank you," Jared answered with a complicit smile toward Jensen – he had expressed earlier that it was lucky he didn't care much about other people's opinions, or he would definitely feel bad about all the eagerness directed at his father instead of him. "Nice to meet you too. I don't want to presume, but if you ever need more help for your repairs, please don't hesitate to ask. I'll be glad to help any way I can."

And that's how Jared found himself deep into machinery, Jensen trailing behind as if he were the guest rather than the host. Ty managed to extract a few novelty ideas out of Jared's brain, and soon Misha was there too, bringing with him a new alloy that would replace advantageously any superconductors. The robot became the second attraction of the day as he kept on delivering the magical alloy in this incredible way his body had to morph and become anything else it needed to be.

But Jensen couldn't tear his eyes away from Jared for long, not when the young man obviously enjoyed the moment and proved to Jensen, again and again, that his father had definitely kept the lid on this talent to make sure the student wouldn't surpass the teacher. It was clear Jared loved the stuff he was talking about and this first opportunity to use his knowledge other than in a theoretical way would do nothing to detract from his project to leave Jardina 4 and settle on Earth. He was glowing, his joy apparent to anyone who cared to look at him.

Jensen decided after a while to leave him to it and go check on his ship. Hardly a half hour has passed before his comm beeped. Ty's signal had been in fact hijacked by Jared.

"Jensen ?" Jared asked a tad frantically. "Where are you ?!"

"Working in my office. What about you ? Still playing with Ty's machines ?"

"We finished installing the plates and then I turned around and you were nowhere to be found. You can't do this to me."

"Okay, don't move, I'll get back to you soon."

Jensen ended what he was doing and got back to engineering. Jared took him in his arms as soon as he was close enough, and though Jensen thought for a second he should keep a more "captain-ish" stance, he was secretly happy to show everyone that Jared wasn't all about his ship's machinery.

Rumors would spread, and so what ?

"I missed you," Jared said in his ear, nowhere close to letting him go.

"Sorry, Jared. You looked so happy down here, I didn't have the heart to take you away."

"It was exhilarating ! Knowing your ship will be safer thanks to Misha and me… I didn't know working for real, beyond the theory, would be so good !"

"Working for and with others is always better. Come, you must be hungry by now. Time for lunch !"

Jared was reluctant to let him go but he accepted to follow Jensen to the turbolift and then into the mess, leaving Misha to work with Ty during their meal. Jensen had alerted Murray about today's special visitor to let him know he was authorized to dig into the extra stash they kept for special occasions and distinguished company, so he wasn't surprised to find him waiting for them to welcome their guest.

"Jared, this is Chief Petty Officer Chad Michael Murray, our cook. I asked him to prepare a few specialties you might not know, as well as some classic Earth food like pizza."

"And I did it all," Murray continued. "I don't know what you like, but prepare to be dazzled !"

Jared laughed, clearly feeling better after his moment of panic due to Jensen's disappearance. The mess was another test in Jensen's mind, maybe the most difficult one. He wanted to see how Jared would fare in a crowded room, surrounded by many other humans and quite a few different species.

Jared passed with flying colors, never realizing he was under scrutiny as he smiled at everyone and shook many hands with the same gentleness and simple curiosity. He was even nice with Murray who took a shine to him and did the service himself, hovering to know what Jared thought of his meal, taking much pride in the moans of pleasure the young man made upon discovering his Quattro Formaggi – Jensen was so not surprised to learn the professor never had Misha synthesizing pizza for his son, not even a hot dog or a simple waffle.

The surprise came from the thoughtful gift brought earlier by Misha on Jared's demand : a big container of synth-coffee, that would last them at least until they got back to Earth, brewed and served by the chef at the end of their meal.

"Mr. Murray," Jensen ordered with a smile to his guest, "please pack the rest of everything you made for Jared, especially the pizza and guacamole. We'll send it all back home with him so he can have a second taste."

"Of course, sir. Jared, I'm glad you enjoyed your meal. People like you are the ones I love to work for. I hope to see you again before we have to leave."

Jensen didn't like how long Murray kept Jared's hand in his, nor the way the cook's thumb caressed Jared's palm when they separated, but he refrained from commenting. Murray was closer to Jared's age, and maybe those two could become friends, or more, in case Jared joined them on their trip back home. The fact that Murray wasn't at all who Jensen thought should teach Jared the ways of love was irrelevant. It had to be Jared's decision.

But it didn't have to happen now, or anywhere near him.

"Jared, come on. Time to show you the bridge, and then I'll have to let you go, work's calling."

"Of course, let's go."

Jensen told himself once more that it wasn't a competition and he didn't have to feel happy that Murray seemed forgotten immediately. In vain. He felt quite triumphant, to be honest.

The bridge welcomed Jared warmly. Jensen had called Genevieve ahead and tasked her with relaying to everyone his command to stop mentioning Jared's father. It became painfully obvious when Ensign Miner got entangled in her welcome speech, but Jared gently reassured her by bringing up his relative himself in the conversation. The look of admiration in the ensign's eyes doubled, and Jensen accepted with a sigh that another competitor had shown up in the battle for Jared's affection.

Then he proceeded to cut the introductions short and got Jared into his office.

"So, how did you like it ? Is the Arcadia good enough to match what you imagined all those years ?"

"It's so much better !" Jared answered, enthused. "Your ship is gorgeous, and your crew so welcoming. But then it's normal. I'm sure you're the greatest captain of Starfleet and everyone wants to be assigned to your ship."

Jensen smiled, oddly touched and proud of Jared's confidence in him.

"Well," he answered, trying for a bit of modesty, "the Arcadia probably can't be compared to the famous Enterprise, but I think my crew is the best ever and we're doing as much of a good job."

In a move Jensen never saw coming, Jared leaned down and pushed his lips against his. It was short and sweet, and Jensen definitely wanted more, age be damned.

"Jared, what was that ?"

"A kiss, of course," the young man answered in a laugh. "I've seen vids, I know how to do it."

"No, you don't. It's like engineering. You might know the theory of a kiss, but you need to learn the real thing."

They could at least share a kiss, Jensen thought as he let his left hand slide into Jared's hair and used the grip to push his face back down toward his own. He kissed Jared's mouth, lightly, again, and once more. Got him to want more, to chase for more, and then used his tongue to tickle the rift between Jared's lips, to entice them into opening.

He felt Jared's body getting heavier against his, losing tension and ability to stand. His right arm squeezed harder to keep the younger man upright as he continued to kiss and tease, one hand still busy massaging Jared's scalp.

And then he let his tongue push in, map the virgin territory and touch Jared's tongue in return. He taught it how to kiss and caress, how to lick and taste. Jared's moans were the best clue giving away his growing pleasure, right before the sensation of his body melting against Jensen's and his attempt to catch his lips again when Jensen put a little space between them.

"Gimme more," Jared murmured.

Jensen complied and dove for lesson number 2. Swiftly followed by more of the same.

"It's even better than working in engineering," Jared lazily smiled between kisses.

"I take it this is a good day for you."

"The best."

More kisses ensued before Jared spoke again.

"When will we get to more ?"

"Why ? Don't you like what we're doing anymore ?"

"I love it !"

"I know you young people are always in a hurry, but this is all you will get. So enjoy it for what it is."

"I do enjoy kissing you. A lot."

"Really ? I'm not sure you enjoy it that much. We should probably stop right now."

"No, we shouldn't !"

Satisfied he had managed to get Jared back where he wanted him, Jensen indulged him for a while longer before he reminded himself that he had a job and many responsibilities.

"I have a gift for you too," he said.

"Another gift ?! Really ? What is it ?"

"Don't get too excited, it's nothing much, just meant to make life easier."

Jensen turned toward his desk and gestured for Jared to follow him. A long white box was there that Jensen opened to reveal the rest of their meal wrapped for travel by Murray. Jensen ignored it and took a smaller box sitting in the right corner of the bigger one, whose top drew up to reveal a device of some kind.

"This is a long-range communicator," Jensen explained. "Not one good enough to send a message to Earth from here in less than a few days, which makes conversation impossible, but I'm sure that, with your knowledge, you'll find countless ways to power it when the battery is dead, and maybe even make it better. The important thing is that it's pre-dialed on my frequency, so that you'll always be able to reach me. Either while we're here and you want to talk to me directly without passing through Lieutenant Cortese, or later, if you decide to stay on Jardina 4 but wish to share something with me. I'll never be far enough that I can't get back to you in a few days. That's a promise, Jared."

Jared kissed him in thanks.


	5. Chapter 5

Jensen invited Gil to his room for dinner. After the pleasure of Jared's company at lunch, he didn't feel like being alone or going back to the mess. But his old friend wasn't one to let him enjoy his meal without teasing him about the latest gossip on board. Not when it was all about him and his latest conquest.

"So I hear bets are soaring tonight."

"What about ?" Jensen asked despite himself.

"Why Jensen, the day you will get Jared in your bed, of course."

"Don't they have work to do instead of betting on my love life ?"

"You should have thought about that before taking him on a date around the freakin' ship ! Holding him in your arms – twice ! Taking him in your office, alone, for quite a long time, and then walking him back to the transporter, lips red and hair mussed. Come on, Jensen ! Even you know better."

"Don't _you_ have work to do instead of listening to and spreading rumors ?"

"In fact I don't. Medbay is ready to take on any injury caused by the invisible monster, inventory has been done, procedures reviewed, drills rehearsed. Outside of a few boo-boos and headaches, my staff is getting antsy with feeling useless."

"Maybe it's time for you and your staff to hit the gym, then. I'll ask Danneel to prepare a few special exercises just for you."

This was more than banter, and Gil knew it, Jensen saw it in his eyes. Come morning, he would be alongside all medical personnel not on call, sweating and hurting at the hands of Lieutenant Harris who never pulled punches and would manage once again to make him look like a fool, because Gil was the best physician out there, but exercising was not his forte. Glaring at his captain, Jensen could almost hear him say, in his best Leonard McCoy impersonation (a distant relative), that he was a doctor, not a punching bag.

The meal appeased the minor tension and Gil was tactful enough not to broach again the topic of Jared, or Jensen's intentions toward him, before they were settled in Jensen's couch, sipping glasses of good brandy that wouldn't get them drunk but would likely help them both to sleep more quickly.

"Gossip aside, I will share with you some unsolicited advice : don't get too involved," Gil said, stroking his beard. "Jensen, I know you like the boy a lot, but this is not a relationship that can last. Even if Jared decides to leave his father and visit Earth, he's so young that he's bound to want to see the world. Meet new people, new lovers. He will leave you too, sooner or later, unless you leave first with the Arcadia and he will be the one feeling abandoned. So please, be cautious."

Gil was right, of course, but Jensen also knew that the doctor couldn't understand what about Jared made a relationship with him so attractive, even through the risk of rejection and solitude. Jensen had long decided the young man was out of bounds because of his age, but it didn't mean he wasn't well worth any heartbreak.

Jared made sure his father was asleep before he went to the main lab. The light came on as soon as he put a foot inside, subdued because of the late hour.

This place had been Jared's playground for many years, under his father's surveillance at first, and then without his knowledge. The spirit that had animated the former inhabitants while creating the labs the house was built on still impregnated the old corridors and rooms, and Jared had never been able to stay away for long despite the fatherly ban.

He sat in front of the holographer, thinking of Jensen and the kisses they had exchanged earlier, and their faces, joined by lips and tongues, naturally appeared on the podium, turning over and over to give him a good view from all sides of their loving embrace. He would have to erase the security vid before his father might check it and not only realize Jared was more than good with the device but also see what he was dreaming about.

Remembering the delicious sensation of Jensen's mouth on his, Jared felt pleasant shivers going through his whole body in waves. He stayed there for a long while, entranced by the picture he was trying to make more realistic, showing more and more of them, sliding against each other, hands roaming. He couldn't wait to get Jensen alone again and do more with him, whatever more might entail.

The energy panel behind him progressively lit up – from one notch to two, and then three – but Jared was too focused on his recreation of the lovers to pay it real attention.

The new alloy the robot had provided them with was quite extraordinary and meant another major good point in Adam's bid for captaincy. All his free time and sleeping hours had been given up in favor of tests and experiments to make sure the alloy would replace advantageously the former one in the machinery, and so far, everything pointed to a much leaner energy curve that would ultimately allow for better performance and drastic savings.

It was well into what should have been his sleeping time that the red alert sounded. Adam abandoned his lab to run to the scene of troubles, outside of the ship, and arrived at the same time as the captain. They both stopped short at the spectacle of Lieutenant Harris and her crew fighting the monster off.

There was a roar of sorts as the lasers hit something, red particles glinting to form a towering shape like that of a huge animal, fifteen feet high at the very least and ten feet large. It was incredible, beautiful in a certain way, but mostly terrifying with a maw, fangs and claws designed to shred elephants and swallow them in one gulp.

Ackles drew his phaser at the same time Adam did and they joined in the barrage but the lasers didn't stop the monster from closing in until it hit the energy field.

The captain had suggested that if the monster was invisible, it might be because his molecules were shifting too swiftly for human eyes – or human devices – to catch them. Therefore his idea to use an endlessly moving force field to counteract the attacker's swiftness by one even swifter field that would act as a blocking wall.

Adam was beating himself for not thinking of it. That was the kind of showy idea that had promoted Ackles to the rank of captain and given him this ship. And it certainly worked, keeping the beast out of the perimeter.

Getting too cocky because of the energy field, one of Harris' men got closer. A mountain of a guy, an Assily who would probably beat them all at any combat sport given his sheer size but was no match against the monster.

"Nit !" Harris cried over the noise of the lasers firing and the crackling force field. "Fall back ! Now !"

It was too late already. The monster, as if focusing all its energy on that point, managed to push enough through the force field that its hand grabbed the poor bastard, crushing him inside a terrible vise before throwing him back against the ship with a sickening thump. No need to check to be sure he was dead.

In the next moment, the monstrous shape had disappeared again, leaving nothing behind but the ghosts of sounds and smells.

"Stop fire !" Ackles ordered before he called the bridge to find out if the computer could spot the monster anywhere close to the ship.

But it was gone, just like it had come, out of nowhere and straight back to it.


	6. Chapter 6

With the excuse of collecting files from the Krell's library, Jensen was back at the Morgans' household accompanied by his first officer. Two hours in, Misha invited them to a midday meal that was as usual part aggravating – Professor Morgan's doing – and part wonderful – thanks to Jared.

The conversation soon turned to the latest appearance of the monster.

"We lost a man," Harrington said while once again Jensen tried to figure if anyone here knew something already, "but we got to see it at last. Monster, beast, they're definitely good names to describe it. Big and tall, a mouth so wide it could tear apart something the size of your hov'speed."

"But… I thought it was invisible. How did you get to see it ?" Jared wondered.

"The lasers," Harrington answered, "they shaped it. Each strike showed us the limits of its body. Then we got the computer to create a 3D image of it."

Harrington took his PADD out to show the 1:100 scale model around, through a much less advanced hologram than the ones they had obtained in the Krell's lab. Everyone's shock at the vision seemed true, save for Misha who displayed his usual equanimity.

"What's even weirder," Harrington went on, "is that this monster appears suddenly out of nowhere and disappears in the same fashion. No precursory sign, no residue. Nothing to run tests or analyses, save for the degradations left after its passage, like a storm that comes and goes, destroying everything on its way."

"And you say your phasers were enough to repel it ?" Morgan asked with a frown of disbelief.

Jensen had long decided to control that part of the conversation.

"Not really," he said, "but they did slow it down. The force field we had raised around the whole ship's perimeter kept it outside, though."

"What kind of force field ?"

"A tough one."

Morgan let go of his spoon and sat against the back of his chair.

"Now who's hiding something, Captain ?"

"I'm sorry, Professor, but seeing as you are the only other persons on this planet, and that you haven't been attacked by the beast in a long while, I consider it prudent to keep quiet about the one way we've found so far to protect ourselves."

Morgan smiled, but it was not pleasant.

"Fair enough. Though I trust that, should the beast attack us too and alleviate your worry that we might be the culprits behind the attacks, you'll consider sharing with us. If only for Jared's sake."

"Of course, and you're welcome to seek protection on the Arcadia, too. At all times."

Lunch over, Jensen was trying to find a reason to extend his visit and spend more time with the young man when Jared came up with the perfect excuse.

"Would you like to take a walk with me ? Nothing's better to help with digestion."

"I'd love that. Commander, I know you want to hit the library again. You've got two more hours, then you'll have to head back to the ship."

Jared led him to the path around the lake, showing him some of the few animals still thriving on Jardina 4.

"That man who died," Jared finally asked, "was he a friend of yours ?"

"No, I hardly knew him, he was a recent recruit to Danneel's crew. But she and I feel just as responsible for his death."

"Did you have an affair with her ?"

"Talk about a change of topic ! What's going on in that smart head of yours ?"

"I can't help but wonder, because you seem very close to her."

"She's one of my closest friends, that's right. But we're not lovers. She's my subordinate. It would make it impossible to be sure of her free consent."

"I'm so glad I do not work for you."

It seemed to be the perfect moment to bring up some of Gil's concerns.

"What about your love life ? Misha's a handsome guy, and he can take whatever appearance you'd like. Have you ever tried anything with him ?"

"Misha ?!" Jared laughed. "No ! He used to be my nanny, now he's more of an old, comfortable friend. I could never see him as a lover."

Jared laughed again, but there was a blush on his face now.

"I'm a virgin, and I want you to be my first," he announced, eyes resolutely locked with Jensen's.

In the next second, Jared pushed his shorts down, leaving himself naked and Jensen transfixed. Then he got closer, taking Jensen in his arms for a kiss that proved the previous lesson had been well retained.

Jensen's mind pretty much ceased working. His hands took control, discovering the perfect roundness of Jared's ass cheeks, the softness of his skin. Something deep inside him tried to tell him it was wrong, that Jared was just a kid and he couldn't take advantage, but in this instant, he couldn't even try to be bothered by reason. He wanted Jared, wanted to be the first to touch him everywhere, to lick him open and fuck him senseless.

Getting a hold of himself was one of the hardest thing he had ever done, but he had to. He couldn't do that to Jared, take him and then leave him, here on Jardina 4, or on Earth as soon as another mission would call him back to space. He couldn't. Jared was a virgin and had to find someone closer to his age to make him happy, someone he could fall in love with and who would stay by his side. Furthermore, he couldn't tip the scales with this kind of complication when Jared had to decide where he wanted to spend the next years of his life.

He retreated into himself, called on every ounce of self-control he possessed, and took a step back. His hands felt cold, far from the furnace that was the kid, and even pushing him away when Jared tried to grab him back was better than nothing if it meant touching him for a few more seconds.

He used all the excuses he could find – Jared's age, his own ; Jared's virginity, his take 'em and leave 'em obligatory attitude (the nature of his job) ; the short time they had known each other ; the very real risk that Jared's father would find them, so close to the house…

Nothing changed Jared's mind, and they parted upset at each other.

Jensen had called and invited him for dinner – even though the invitation included his dad, Jared had strangely forgotten that part of the message, ready to make another attempt at shifting Jensen's will – but Jared decided to go ahead and come earlier to take a good look at the huge ship from outside, driving around with the hov'speed. The Arcadia was gorgeous, all white and smooth lines. Her hull didn't seem to have taken hits from his point of view, unblemished and whole. Even the sturdy parts she rested on looked gracile and strong at the same time. Jared had no difficulty understanding Jensen's pride in being her captain.

He finally found what looked like an entrance of sort and comm'ed Jensen to let him know he was already here but would occupy himself while waiting for dinner.

It was a big fat lie that he hoped Jensen would see through, to come and fetch him soon. But then another occupation appeared in the form of Chief Petty… something.

Chad. Chad was a lot easier to remember than all those fancy titles. It amused him to no end when Jensen slipped and called his crewmen by their names, time and time again, rather than their ranks, and he guessed he wouldn't get in much trouble for doing the same.

"Chad, glad to see you again," Jared greeted him, leaving the hov'speed.

"Likewise, Jared ! Gosh, I swear you're even taller than the first time I saw you. And more beautiful. It makes me so fucking crazy every time I see you in those skimpy shorts and nothing else."

Jared couldn't help blushing. He had discovered he liked being complimented a lot, but it didn't make it any easier to know how to take it. His dad had never been exactly forthcoming with the niceties and some of the Earthlings' habits to make a big deal of everything, and especially the physical parts, were both very welcome and quite disconcerting. Unless it was Jensen doing the complimenting.

Keeping his hand in his, Chad took him away from the ship, bringing him behind a few big crates piled up, waiting to be taken back into the Arcadia. Chad masterfully cornered him against the lower one and came closer than seemed normal.

"Such a pretty thing as you shouldn't be cooped up far from life", Chad said with a flirty smile, raising his hand to caress Jared's lips. "Far from me. Come back to Earth with me. I'll show you everything and you will fall in love with me forever."

Jared laughed.

"You're so silly. I'm sure you're a lot of fun but I won't fall in love with you."

"How can you be so sure ? Unless you've given your heart already, but there's no one here to… Oh, that's it ! The handsome Captain Ackles did it again !"

"Did what again ?" Jared asked, annoyed that he was so transparent, and even more that other people before him might have had their heart broken by a charming officer married only to his ship and crew.

"Seduced you. I can see it in your eyes," Chad explained, coming that much closer to trap Jared's body with his own and frame Jared's face between his hands, looking deep into his eyes. "Wherever we go, the captain leaves a trail of broken hearts and abandoned lovers behind him. He's a great guy, a great captain, but he won't give you what you need like I can."

"And what would that be ?" Jared asked to forget the image of Jensen holding someone else in his arms. Kissing someone else.

Loving someone else.

"I'd teach you love, how two men can find so much pleasure in each other."

Chad's hands moved to descend along Jared's arms and push them around his own waist.

"How they can love each other, not only for one night, but the many ones after that. I'd teach you all about your sensitive areas, and I'd thrive on seeing how you respond when I touch you intimately."

His hands were now on his back, pushing him away from the crate to get better access, their groins in close contact, and then sliding downward to get to his ass and clamp on each cheek. Jared couldn't help feeling good in this moment, his cock responding to the pleasure as Chad began to knead his bottom, applying more and more force to the caress and getting far too quickly between his legs before going back up along his crack, pushing on the fabric of his shorts to get between his cheeks.

It was good, Jared couldn't say otherwise, but it also felt all wrong with this guy, and far too quick. Chad might talk about love, but it seemed he was only after sex, and in a way Jensen would never condone. Not with a virgin like Jared, someone who had no experience to rely on and make an informed decision that would not only be based on his sexual needs.

Jared had to fight to push Chad away, especially his prying hands, one of which had taken to pull on Jared's shorts to try and get them down, baring his cock to all present eyes.

"Jared !" Jensen's voice cracked like a whip.

Jared didn't understand why he felt so guilty to be found in Chad's arms, not when Jensen had refused to be the one in this place despite Jared's offer.

"Mr. Murray, I think it's time for you to get back to your galley," Jensen ordered with cold fury.

"Aye, Captain."

Chad left in a hurry, stumbling more than once on the uneven gravel littering the ground in his haste to escape his commanding officer's anger.

Jared couldn't move, couldn't run. He felt like the child he had once been, found out by his father doing something dangerous, scolded and punished for hours until the lesson had taken and Jared swore never to do it again.

But in this minute, as Chad cleared off to avoid his captain, leaving Jared alone to withstand his anger, Jensen looked a thousand times more pissed than his father had ever been. As he came in front of a Jared still dumbfounded with worry, he also looked disappointed, and that was perhaps the most difficult thing to stand.

"Is that all you want ?" Jensen asked, his mouth so close to his that Jared really believed for a moment that he would kiss him. "A tumble in the hay, a good fucking, whoever's giving it ?"

And then Jensen's hands were on him, right where Chad's had been only seconds prior, but this time the thin barrier of his shorts had been removed. And they were so good, so sure of themselves, so commanding, that Jared couldn't think of another response than giving in and enjoying. Take what he had wanted from the very first moment he had shaken Jensen's hand and wished to get him to do so much more.

His shorts that were already more than half pulled down sank down to his ankles and nothing prevented Jensen from pushing two fingers inside Jared's crack, the other ones gripping his ass cheeks with such force that they would leave marks for sure.

"Is that it ?" he asked again. "Murray or me, is that all and the same for you ?"

"No !" Jared shouted. "I don't think so, it's just so hard to know what's right. It's… so much."

He didn't want to say too much, didn't want Jensen to stop and let him go, but the captain obviously heard it anyway. His hands retreated, leaving Jared bereft and cold. They only came back to dress him again in a way befitted for society and then gently caress his face.

"I'm sorry, Jared, I tend to forget how young and inexperienced you are. You need to do your own experimentation, see what you like and what you want. I have no right to make you feel bad about it."

"I like it when you touch me, better than when Chad does it, but it was still good. Is it normal ?"

Jensen sighed and caressed him again.

"Absolutely. I might be jealous, but it's just your body responding to another human being's touch. Male bodies especially don't look that far as to who's doing the touching if it might get them off."

"But I know I want you more."

"And my ego's glad for it, but there's no way to say so soon if it's just a crush, or the sign of something more. As I said, you need to experiment and try different things to know what you want, I just don't want to see it. You never met anyone else before, I was the first guy to come knocking at your door. You can't build your whole future on this."

Jensen looked so certain, and yet Jared wanted to say that yes, he could build a future on this. That he felt safer and more loved than ever in Jensen's company, particularly when Jensen wrapped his arms around him. That seeing the world didn't seem that fun if Jensen wasn't there to share it with him.


	7. Chapter 7

He arrived home, disappointed and sad after yet another rejection from Jensen, to find that his father had disrupted years of habits to wait for him in the living room instead of working as usual. And yet he was so not in the mood for more "adult" advice that would try to prove how misguided his instincts and desires were.

"How was dinner ?" his dad asked, in a tone too casual to be honest.

"Good."

Jared kept on walking toward his bedroom.

"Good ? That's it ? No "incredibly fantastic," no "Jensen is so dreamy" ?"

"Please, I'm not a baby. And why do you care anyway ?"

"I care because you're my son and I don't want you to suffer once the Arcadia is gone, one way or another. I care because I know how hard teenagers can crush on older men, and that it never ends well. I tried to keep you out of this, but since you didn't listen, I want to make sure you understand Ackles is not a good choice for you."

"Well, be happy, because you two happen to agree on this. The one time you do, and it's at my expense."

Jared stomped into his bedroom, regretting he couldn't slam the sliding door, but still he heard his father, something about being melodramatic and that he would soon laugh at himself for his infatuation with a stupid Starfleet captain.

Three hours after going to bed and enduring a terrible nightmare showing Jensen dying at the hands of the planet's monster, sleep was evading Jared's grasp. He turned and twisted in his bed for another while and then decided a night snack was in order.

Denebel, the second moon, was glowing brightly, her thirty-three rings clearly chiseled in the darker sky. Night was never completely black on Jardina 4, and Jared was eager to experience Earth at her most mysterious time of the day. He had to convince Jensen.

The long-range communicator the captain had given him sat on his nightstand, proof that Jensen really cared about him and hadn't tried to get rid of him. Jared had taken it out of its hiding place before he went to bed. His father had destroyed every means of communication with Earth or any other distant planet a long time ago and he had made Jared promise to never build another one, certain that the monster would attack any new colonist landing on the planet and that playing dead was best for everyone.

Jared had never had a reason to defy his dad before, not on this topic anyway. Jensen had changed that too, just like he had changed Jared's whole world. This desire to see and live something else was not new by any means, but Jensen had shaped it, given it a face and the hope that all would be for the best, that Jared could be happy far from his childhood home and his father. He had awakened in Jared feelings and desires that in his innocence he had thought to be nice and easy, only to realize the wells of passion and want he carried inside were never going to let him breathe and live through another day without thinking about Jensen, needing him.

Jared finally stood and pushed aside the ache of his heart. He didn't turn on any light, the illumination from the moon enough to let him find his way toward the kitchen and the fridge. He went directly for the cake Jensen had sent back with him – his dad had long ago ceased to try and curb his sweet tooth as long as Jared exercised daily and his bloodwork showed no sign of degradation.

The cake did make him feel better with the remembrance of Jensen's happiness at seeing Jared greatly appreciating his lunch. He forced himself to keep a few bites for another time – hopefully not another nightmare – and began the trek back to his room.

A door opened at the end of the hall and Jared almost tripped on his own feet at the sight of his long-deceased mother leaving his father's room.

"Mom ?!"

Immediately, the appearance of Adrianne Palicki vanished to morph into that of his old friend Misha, quite ridiculous now in a woman's skimpy outfit that didn't fit anymore his slight but definitely masculine silhouette.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Jared. I thought you were asleep."

"You thought I was… what's going on here ? Dad ?!"

His father appeared in his turn, brow furrowed with concern.

"Jared, this is not what you think."

"Really ? Because from where I stand, it looks a lot like you've got Misha playing at being my mother so that you could fuck her. He didn't even button his whole shirt back."

"Jared, please."

"No, Misha, I want the truth. Did you sleep with my father wearing my mother's face ?"

"I did."

"Jared," his dad tried again to placate him, "you have to understand that being alone for a man, all these years, it's straining, sometimes even debilitating. I needed someone by my side, and one day I gave in, I asked Misha to put her face on. I just wanted to see her again, listen to her, but after a few times, I just couldn't resist touching her too."

"And you never thought about Misha ? About what it meant for him to let you play with him as if his feelings counted for nothing ?"

"I was happy to help," Misha intervened, although his tone was too close to a question for Jared's comfort.

Jared hid his eyes behind his hands for a few seconds, hoping the sad display of his father's affair would turn out to be a dream, but he soon felt his dad's hand landing on his shoulder for a support he wasn't ready to accept. He pushed him away.

"When I think of your little speech earlier, like I should forget Jensen and go on with my life… What a hypocrite you are !"

"This has nothing to do with it."

"It's exactly the same !" Jared yelled. "I'm in love with Jensen, get that into your thick skull."

"You can't be. And you can't compare what your mother and I had with the feelings you imagine having for a man who will leave in a few days and forget all about you."

"Professor," Misha cut him, "I don't think Jared needs to hear this now."

Misha put his hand on Jared's other shoulder, and this time Jared didn't shrug him off.

"Come," Misha said, "you both need to sleep, and you'll talk about everything tomorrow when you're rested."

Jared yielded, walking in the direction of his bedroom as impelled by Misha's firm hand. Without turning the light on, the robot led him right to his bed and pushed him to sit and then lay on it, holding the cover to tuck him in just like when he was a kid whose father was often too absorbed in his work to remember it was bedtime for his son. Misha had really been his nanny, and despite Jensen's questions, he still couldn't imagine him as a potential lover, even after his discovery with Chad that he could enjoy someone else's touch than Jensen's.

"Misha, a moment please."

"Of course, Jared. What can I help you with ?"

Jared was pretty sure that, even in the relative darkness of the room, his blush could power up and light a small house during a long winter night but he soldiered on.

"I need you… Could you change into Jensen ?"

"That I can. Do you need me to appear like him right this moment ?"

"Yes, that… that would be nice of you."

It felt weird, and so inappropriate, to watch as Jensen took form in front of his eyes. It was also so very tempting to order Misha to disrobe and play just like it seemed his father had done for a while with the robot, to quell his solitude and relieve his body of the natural needs he had no other way to satisfy.

He couldn't even be sure if he was still talking about his father or himself.

Jared still didn't know how he felt about his father sleeping with Misha wearing the face and body of his dead wife, trapped between understanding and something akin to disgust. But here he was, ready to take advantage of Misha in his turn, to know what it meant to be touched by the man you desired. And the more Jared looked at Jensen's recreated face, the more he wanted.

The only reason why he wouldn't completely take advantage of Misha was that he planned to ask for the touch of his hands, instead of doing the touching. Plus it would be the only way to answer his own questions, what was it about Jensen that made his touch so very arousing, his proximity so intoxicating ? Was is something to be reproduced easily in the comfort of a laboratory, or with a robot – who was also a friend – wearing the same face as the man Jared had taken a fancy to ?

Still feeling awkward, he pushed the cover down and asked Misha to come closer.

"Sit next to me," he added as he lay back on his bed.

"Is that an experiment ?" Misha asked, obviously puzzled by Jared's requests so far.

"Yes, I want to check if… Please, put your hand on my stomach."

Misha did so, and although the warm feeling was nice enough, it did nothing to arouse Jared. Even if Misha had naturally altered his own voice to copy Jensen's.

"Can you… move it up ?"

Misha obeyed without a word, his hand sliding up Jared's torso in the general direction of his throat.

"Is that what you're looking for ?"

"Well, maybe more to the right ?"

"On your breast ?"

Jared nodded, unable to voice his desire. Misha's hand came to rest over Jared's right breast, and once again it was not horrible, but it did nothing for him. Misha's touch was definitely not the one of a lover, even wearing Jensen's beautiful face.

"Are you trying to understand what your father and I are doing when he asks me into his room ?"

Jared blushed violently and scowled.

"I sure don't want to know what my dad gets up to in his bedroom, and I'd appreciate if you never talked about that again in front of me."

"Alright, but I can't seem to understand what this experiment will prove."

"I'll tell you when I know the answer."

Taking Misha's wrist in his own hands, Jared moved the hand over his left nipple and massaged himself with the tip of the robot's fingers the way he liked to do to himself. It felt better this time, especially with his eyes closed to try and forget he was coercing the robot into doing this to him. But he could recognize a failure when he saw one.

"Is that really something you enjoy ?" Misha naïvely asked.

"I do, and I would…" Jared answered without opening his eyes.

He felt weak and dumb in that moment, sure he would never manage to seduce Jensen and make him see what could be between them. He didn't have what it took to become the great love of such a man who had the most fascinating life and the most competent friends he could hope for. Jared was just a kid, a virgin one at that, who had no clue about love and sex, and no way to get Jensen's attention and keep it.

Gently, Jared pushed Misha's hand away and told him to take his usual appearance back. He waited to open his eyes to be faced once again by his old friend. He smiled at him, hoping Misha wouldn't catch the sadness he didn't want to acknowledge.

"Thanks, Misha, you can go now. I'm not getting my answer this way."

"Are you sure I can't help you ?"

"Very sure."

"Then maybe this is something Captain Ackles will be able to help you with. He always seems very eager to partake in your company," Misha said and turned before Jared had time to respond.

He would try again, and again, until he was sure Jensen really didn't want him, not because of some stupid chivalrous idea that he was too old for Jared but because he wasn't attracted to him and there was no place for Jared in his life.

He was firmly asleep at last when the communicator came to life, awakening him instantly, and Jensen's face showed up on the screen.

"Jared ! I've been trying to contact you for a while. We were attacked again tonight, please lock…"

"What happened ?" Jared interrupted him, remembering his nightmare with a cold shiver down his spine. "Are you alright ?"

"I am, but we have two more dead. Please, I need you to lock yourself inside and make sure you're secure in the house. Right now, this alloy might be the best protection against the monster."

"We're all inside, don't worry," Jared replied in a tone he hoped wouldn't give away his bitterness at knowing the game his father and Misha had played, for years maybe, right under his nose. "Did you manage to keep it outside of the Arcadia again this time ?"

"We did, but it felt like the force field was about to go down more than once. We're still not sure why it disappeared suddenly, just like all previous attacks. Or why it appeared at all. We're not doing anything to attract its attention."

"If I thought I had a chance to convince you, I'd invite you to come over here, since it seems we're more secure."

"If you can somehow lodge the whole crew, I'll be happy to consider your invitation."

There was a short silence and suddenly Jared had to confess to what he had done with Misha.

"Jensen, I did something stupid tonight."

"You did ? Do you want to tell me about it ?"

"Yes, I… I saw Misha, coming out of my dad's room, wearing my mother's face and body, and I kind of… I didn't know how to react, I get that he needs to, you know, but… and I was still mad at you for not wanting me, so I asked Misha to touch me."

Jared looked at Jensen to try and see what the man was thinking, but his face was a total blank and the small screen didn't help.

"I stopped him almost immediately," he added in a hurry, not wanting to wake Jensen's anger the way it had with Chad. "But now I'm surer than ever, it's only you I want, Jensen. Not even Misha wearing your face."

The shock on Jensen's face this time reminded him he had forgotten this little detail at first.

"Can I see you tomorrow ?" he begged. "I need to tell you face to face, not through a communicator. Please."

Jensen averted his eyes for a second, then he looked back at Jared and agreed.


	8. Chapter 8

He used the transporter this time to get to the Arcadia, if only because his father had taken the hov'speed to go and check a field a few miles out. Teleportation was still new and amusing, and so much faster, which was definitely a wonderful advantage when you yearned for somebody.

On his way to meet Jensen, the first person Jared met after Kara was once again Chad Murray, and he had to wonder if it was a coincidence. Still, he took the time to talk with the cook for a little while.

"So what happened ? Did the captain yell at you ?"

"Not his style," Chad smirked. "He looks at you and lets you see how disappointed in you he is, then he uses big words you hardly understand and you feel small and terrible."

"Did he forbid you to see me again ?"

"That's what I thought he would do, but no. He told me to ask you before I do anything, though. And to think hard about it before I try."

Jared felt sad that obviously Jensen hadn't changed his mind about letting him experience love with other people.

"But I know he likes you very much," Chad added, scrutinizing Jared's face and giving a very peculiar inflection to the word likes.

"How can you say that ? He doesn't mind you trying your luck with me."

"He read me the riot act, even though it's not a good idea to cross the cook !" Chad laughed. "You want to be sure he won't spit in your meal."

Chad backtracked quickly when he saw Jared's disgusted expression.

"Hey, don't worry ! I've never done that. I pride myself on being the best, I'm not going to risk ruining my reputation for a bit of amorous rivalry. Even for such a pretty piece of ass as you."

"You have the most astonishing and embarrassing ability to insult me while being seemingly nice."

"It's all part of my charm, baby."

Chad was a nice guy, Jared thought fondly. Irreverent, and probably not faithful for long in matters of love, but in the same way he wanted Jensen as his lover, Jared would like to keep Chad as a friend once the chef got into his head that Jared was off limits, the property of one Jensen Ackles, captain of the starship Arcadia.

He found the object of his affection on the bridge, seated in the big chair in the middle of the circular room. Everyone greeted him with a smile or a hand gesture as he walked to join Jensen.

"Mr. Buckley, you have the bridge."

"Aye, Captain."

The short man already showing a bit of a paunch got up from his console in front of Jensen to take the captain's seat, while another ensign took over the helmsman's position. Jensen led Jared to his office, door swishing closed behind to leave them alone.

"So it seems you had a bit of a rough night ?"

"You can say so."

"What was that about your father sleeping with Misha looking like your mother ? Did I really understand you well ?"

"You did. It was such a shock ! You can't imagine. I thought at first for a second that she was here, a miracle maybe, or that the monster had kept her all those years and she had managed to free herself after it attacked humans again. It's crazy the kind of thoughts that go through your mind in that kind of moment, but…"

"It's perfectly normal to want to see again those we love. And the second shock, I guess, was to realize it was in fact Misha standing there, and to understand what it meant."

"But it's not normal to ask your best friend to touch you."

"Depends. Why did you ask Misha to do it ?"

"I don't know, it was a stupid idea. I thought of what you said, that Misha was good-looking, and then I discovered he was more than aware about sex with humans. I wanted to know if I'd feel the same thing when he touched me."

"You were experimenting, just like I told you to. Don't blame yourself for something natural."

"You're not mad that I had him take your appearance ?"

"I'm flattered, but I trust you to know it's got nothing to do with the real thing."

"I know. Believe me, I know."

Jensen looked at the clock and then stood up.

"Come on," he said. "Ty prepared a surprise for you, I'm sure you're gonna love it."

They went through the bridge once again to take the turbolift down to a deck Jared hadn't visited yet. Jensen preceded him into a strange, dark room ; the checkered walls refracted little to no light so Jared stayed close to Jensen and followed him to what seemed to be the center of the open space.

"I couldn't show you this before because we needed all the power for the many repairs," Jensen said, amused by Jared's confusion, "but I talked with Ty and he said he could offer us a two-hour window so that we can explore the world for a little while."

"Explore the world ?"

"Yeah, come on. Computer, begin sequence."

Immediately, the room disappeared to give way to new scenery, a beautiful sunset over the hills of Sisin on Theodolin, the view going as far as the horizon.

"Whoa !" Jared exclaimed. "Where is this ? How did we get here ?"

"We're still on the ship. Still in the same room, in fact, but the computer is capable of generating any scenario and place you wish to go through."

"This is incredible," Jared murmured, taken by the display of a planet brimming with life of all kinds, so much more than his own.

"When Danneel heard about my plan to take you on this trip, she insisted that I had to show you first her mother's planet, Theodolin, and she gave me this file. I agreed because she's right, it's a beautiful place. But it's not the only one. Not by a long shot."

The computer chose this moment to display a new planet, once again from above, the two men standing on top of a mountain. The eyes didn't know where to settle with so many different types of vegetation and microclimates.

"What's this place ?"

"Entata. Never seen anything like this anywhere else. The scenery changes so fast and so often, it's like going from England to Narnia through the wardrobe : you never see it coming."

Jensen laughed a bit at his own joke but he soon realized that Jared wasn't getting the reference.

"Please, tell me your father let you read children's books."

Jared tried to avert his eyes but Jensen saw right through him.

"Not really. He thought they were either gory monstrosities or orchestrated dumbing-down in order to keep humanity stupid and content with its lot in life."

"Well, deep down inside, we're pretty much all gory monsters, but I like to think we're not that dumb. As for stories and tales, they were created to help kids to learn and face the world, to teach them how to deal with reality ; all in a pleasant, if frightening, allegorical manner. With all the respect he deserves, taking that away from you might not have been the most intelligent thing your father ever did !"

The computer ended the awkward conversation by changing once again their surroundings, leading them this time to a planet covered with snow and ice.

"That's incredible !" Jared admired. "I've seen snow on vids, but I couldn't imagine it would be so bright and glinting under the sun. You have to take me there someday."

"I don't know. You'd have to wear a lot more than your perpetual shorts. Are you ready for this sacrifice ?"

"Keep teasing me, and the next time we're on a beach I'll take them off."

"Do you really think that's gonna stop me ?!"

It was a testament to the pleasure Jared was taking in the simulated trip that he didn't try to make anything out of Jensen's admission. For the next hour, they kept on traveling all over the galaxy, sometimes to places even Jensen had never seen, and Jared's smile was permanently etched on his face.

"I kept the best for last," Jensen finally announced, "Earth."

The shock on Jared's face at finding himself as close as possible to being on his parents' planet was clear for all to see. The instantaneous love, too, as he took in people and places like nomads of the Sahel, cowboys in America, monks in Tibet, all the ordinary people of many countries going about their business, jogging in Hyde Park, visiting the Warsaw Barbican, listening to a concert at the feet of the Eiffel Tower, eating sashimi in Tokyo…

"Thank you, so much !" Jared said, still walking along the Great Wall of China. "I hope to be able to see all those places in person someday, but the feeling it's real is so incredible, I wonder if…"

Jared stopped short, censuring himself.

"Tell me," Jensen encouraged him. "We're here to make your dreams come true, or close enough."

"Okay. So if we can go where we want and see anything, could you show me my mother ? My father told me she got to show up at various events like fundraisers and award receptions. I thought…"

"I knew you'd like that, so I asked Lieutenant Cortese to search our archive and she did find one file. I'm sure there's more and I'll try to find them for you once I'm' back on Earth, but in the meanwhile, you can enjoy this one."

The computer took its cue from Jensen's words and the surroundings changed drastically to recreate a posh party, the likes of which Jensen had had to endure too many times since he had been made a captain. It was not the most interesting event, and Jensen wondered why this one had been available to them, but at least it showed Adrianne Palicki all dolled up in a gorgeous cream-colored sequined dress, a sheath going down to mid-thigh that had her outshining every other woman in the room. She hadn't met Jeff Morgan by that time, and she was flirting easily with everyone, seemingly happy to be there for an evening of mingling and money raising to fund a new lab she would get to manage. This party had been a great success to achieve the necessary budget.

"At that time," Jensen explained, "your mother was working for the University of San Diego. A few years later, she would be hired by Starfleet, and then meet your father."

Jared nodded absently, completely focused on the image of his mother, more real than anything he might have seen before. Her smile was so big, her eyes, highlighted by the heavier-than-usual party makeup, sparkled with joy. She was simply beautiful.

Jensen took Jared's hand and led him into the holoscene. They walked close to Adrianne, following her steps and conversations. Jared's face lighted up upon hearing her laugh, and Jensen wondered if he should have programmed the computer to recreate Adrianne entirely to interact with them, even though it had seemed too much for a first meeting, so to speak.

Jared asked for a rerun when the recording drew to a close. Jensen obliged him without a word and the frozen image of Adrianne came to life again to mingle once more with rich and influential people who had taken a shine to her and were eager to spend their money on experiments and medical advances they understood nothing about just to see her pretty smile again (and probably take advantage of a consequent tax deduction).

"Thank you so much," Jared said, turning toward Jensen to take him in his arms when the third run of the file ended. "It might be stupid, but I feel closer to her now, closer than whenever Dad told me about her. It's almost as if I could take her in my arms, like I'm doing with you."

"If you feel ready, sometime, we can recreate her so that you can talk to her. Or rather her image, the way you see her. It's not ideal, but still it's something. It won't make up for your loss, but you can imagine whatever scenario, any conversation you wish you had with her."

Jared shivered in his arms.

"Do you do it ? With your own parents, of course."

"Once in a while, when I've been away from my family for too long and the need to see them all again becomes too much. On Christmas for example."

"Can I see them ?"

Jensen tensed for a second, wondering if he really wanted to share those private moments with a man who had never known the meaning of family, unwilling to let his potential resentment mar his memories. But everything he knew about Jared made it hard to believe he would be so petty.

"Okay," he said. "Computer, load file JA/Christmas/2495.358."

People around them morphed into his family sitting at the Christmas table two years prior, Jensen's chest tightening a bit at the view. His parents had sent this vid to make up for his absence, knowing Jensen would regret not being able to share the time with them. Years passing, it had become harder and harder to get them all in the same place at the same time and it was sheer luck that had permitted that so many of them were present that day.

"These are my parents," he said, showing a mid-age couple, "and my three brothers with their partners and children."

The vid went on and after naming them for Jared, Jensen shut up to listen for the umpteenth time to the family banter, watch how every now and then one of the people present would raise their glass to the camera, toasting Jensen silently. Jane, his six-year-old niece, rose when no one was paying attention, and came forward to sit in front of the camera, beginning a one-way conversation with her favorite uncle to show him the gifts she had received, and especially the spacewoman doll Dann and Gen had helped him choose on Andoria, with the pretty blue antennae Jensen knew would amuse the kid.

"She's so cute !" Jared cooed over the child. "And I love your family, they all seem such nice and warm people."

"They are, and they would love you too."

"Is this the house you grew up in ?"

"Yeah, full of memories and laughter. It was not always easy, four boys growing up in a small house, but we enjoyed the countryside all around and we made the most out of it."

"Can you show me ?"

Jensen changed the file to one of the four Ackles children, from age 10 to 16, playing in the snow, and then diving into the nearby pond on a much sunnier day, scaring the ducks who flew away. Jared snorted.

"I see what you meant about wearing something to swim. Is that you with those red shorts ?"

"Guilty as charged, although we call them trunks."

Jensen smiled, amused by his thin silhouette that didn't bode well at the time for him ever becoming big enough to be accepted at the Academy. He had trained hard, played rougher than anyone, just to make sure he would make his dream happen someday.

"How old were you ?"

"Twelve, the third sibling. I was so scrawny next to my big brothers, I thought I'd never grow up as much as them."

"Seems to me you caught up quite well."

"I can't complain. The girls and boys I got it on with didn't either. See that clearing over there ? That's where I made love for the first time. We had no idea what we were doing, but it's a sweet memory."

"How old were you ?"

"Sixteen, and I know where you're going with this, but it's not the same. My partner was sixteen too."

"It's exactly the same ! It means you thought you were mature enough to make that decision. Why is it different in my case ?"

"Because you were a toddler when I had my first time, and maturity is a very relative concept."

"Do you find me immature ?"

"I find you very mature for your age."

Jared pushed Jensen against a tree and used his height to get him to focus on him alone.

"Do you not find me pleasant to look at ?"

"You know I think you're gorgeous, Jared."

"So then what ? What's wrong with me ?"

"Nothing's wrong with you. I just don't think it should be me taking your virginity."

"You don't think ? But what about me ? What if I think I want you to be the one ?!"

Jensen had something of a revelation. He remembered thinking that same thought about Murray, that it had to be Jared's decision. And Jared had decided. He wanted him, not Murray or anyone else. Jensen was his choice.

Jared was an adult, and Jensen wouldn't force him by giving in. In fact, he could make sure that Jared's first time was magical and beautiful. But if he made this decision, Jensen needed to give Jared the best first time ever.

"Where do you want to go then ?"

"You could take me to your clearing."

"Here ? You don't want to have your own place ? Somewhere not already confused with someone else's memories ?"

"Do you have a place in mind ?" Jared asked with an excited smile, loving this idea.

"I do. Come, follow me."

Jared wouldn't be able to refuse even if he wanted to, because Jensen's grip on his hand was strong enough to make him stumble when he got going quite abruptly. Jared loved it, it was the mark that Jensen was just as eager as he was. That he wanted this just as much.

They walked back in the general direction of the house, seen at a short distance, so smart and cheerful that Jared wondered how realistic this rendition was, how enhanced by Jensen's fond memories. They stopped long before reaching it, though, at the foot of a big tree. Jensen looked up and Jared followed his lead, discovering through the foliage a charming shack. They used the bars planted on both sides of the tree to climb into the little hut.

Jared found the inside was not as austere as he feared, a soft mattress and many shimmering cushions covering the floor.

"Only my brothers and I ever came here," Jensen said. "And now I'll think of you when I see the shack again."

Jensen kneeled on the cushions. He took Jared's hand, encouraging him to do the same, and soon Jared found himself in Jensen's arms, lying on the mattress under Jensen, their lips meeting to share kisses just as dizzying as the first day.

Jared felt his clothes disappearing, which meant he was naked in a mere second whereas Jensen was still fully clothed.

"That's not fair !" he panted. "You got…"

Jensen's mouth descended on his right nipple, rendering him speechless.

"Gotta be…"

A moan escaped him, blocking his ability to speak once more. Jensen's mouth kept on making him crazy, licking his other nipple and gently biting it, while his hands had descended toward his hips to play with his genitals.

"Naked too," he finished in a breath.

Jensen chose the worst moment to listen to him, abandoning Jared's cock, leaking and eager, to undress himself. Jared felt himself harden even more at the sight of Jensen naked and the hard member he wanted inside him, right now. Jensen had been right to say he was more than well-endowed.

"Please," he begged, "touch me."

Jensen leaned back down to cover his body, offering him the new pleasure of skin against skin. He began to bite Jared's neck and shoulders, raised his head to find Jared's ear, his tongue doing incredible things in its shell.

"You feel amazing," Jensen murmured, echoing his thought. "I want you so bad."

"I want you too, please."

Jensen slid down once again, farther this time, right until Jared's cock that he took in his mouth. With another moan, Jared opened his legs, giving Jensen complete access to his body. He felt like he was falling in a bottomless new space, deeper and darker than the Krell's power chambers, more mysterious and energizing. He couldn't steer his body anymore but he enjoyed this magical sensation of floating, following Jensen everywhere, anywhere.

"And you taste even better," Jensen said right before he dove lower to take one of Jared's balls between his lips.

Half of Jared's body rose off the mattress to ask for more. He was so beautiful, Jensen felt his heart burst inside his chest. And he was his.

He suddenly felt he couldn't wait anymore, had to be inside Jared, love him the right way and make him see stars.

He extended a hand toward one of the many disparate cases, gifts for the Ackles children, brought back by their father from different planets he had visited, to furnish their little hut. All were nicely wrought by local artisans, and the last thing you expected to find there was condoms and lube.

Jensen saw the question in Jared's eyes and explained immediately why he had supplies lying around in a kid's shack.

"Order of the captain : real condoms and medbay-approved lube to go with every holodeck script. Better safe than sorry."

"I want to feel you. Do we need a condom ? You know I'm a virgin."

"And I'm clean, the ship's doctor makes sure of it, so we can go with the lube only, it will make sure you're safe, if that's your choice."

"It's my choice, definitely. I want to feel you deep inside me."

Encouraged by the heated look Jensen sent him, Jared wound his arms again around his neck and brought him closer to kiss him some more. He kind of hiccupped upon feeling Jensen's finger pushing inside him, breaching his hole to slide in deeper, turning upon itself to get him used to the intrusion. Soon with no resistance to fight against, Jensen brought another finger in and more lube. The pressure got fiercer, and yet it was nothing compared to the fullness of three digits moving and scissoring deep in his ass, getting him ready for more.

But then Jared got impatient. He wanted Jensen to be his, now, make sure that they were together and that Jensen couldn't ever change his mind, retreat behind his damn logic and common sense.

"You," he ordered between moans of pleasure, "take me, now."

Jensen looked as dazed as Jared felt, but he responded quickly enough to Jared's wish by withdrawing his fingers and coating his cock with lube instead. In the next few seconds, he aligned his dick to Jared's entrance and began pushing.

It was kind of painful for Jared, and yet his legs crossed around Jensen's waist on their own volition to guide him deeper, desperately seeking the wondrous feelings the fingers had awakened in him. And there it came, slowly, pain becoming pleasure, stretched turning into pleasant, filled to bursting into fully loved. Sparks flooded his whole body when Jensen's cock hit something deep inside and then Jared did all he could to feel that again and again.

It was more than bliss for Jensen, and the feeling was enhanced by the certainty that Jared wanted him so bad he was the one calling the shots, setting the pace. It soothed his last worries about Jared's decision and pushed him through a well of incredible sensations. Jared's tightness around his cock, gripping him all along the way as he sheathed himself inside the furnace of his lover's body, got him close to oblivion far too quickly but it couldn't be helped.

Sensing he was about to lose it, Jensen grabbed Jared's cock and stroked it in time with his thrusts. Below him, Jared was a mess of whimpers and moans, mouth open to try and catch his breath. Orgasm took him by surprise, breath caught for a long moment, as if frozen in time. And then he came back online, ass squeezing Jensen tighter than ever, and Jensen came too.

They lay gasping, and then lazily recovering from their exertion. Jared came closer to Jensen as soon as he felt capable of moving, loving the sensation that Jensen was still in him. Even the semen slowly trickling out of his ass didn't seem gross right now.

"Captain, you asked to be alerted at the two hours mark," Genevieve's voice broke the peaceful silence.

Surprised and startled, they laughed and looked at each other, unwilling to move even though they knew they had to. Jensen was the first to turn over, grabbing a towel to clean them both of the evidence of their lovemaking, and then helping Jared to his feet. It took some time to get dressed again, as kisses got in the way, but they finally managed and Jensen ordered the computer to end the holoscene.

Jared watched the dark checkered walls with something close to dread before he turned to Jensen.

"Will you disappear on me too, when repairs are done ? Is this how our relationship is going to go ?"

Jensen kissed him before answering.

"The cards are all in your hands, Jared. I know what my life is made of : I'm this ship's captain, and my job is to fly through space, going from planet to planet wherever Starfleet wants me to, to help people and make new allies. You, on the other hand, have to fathom the way you want to shape your life. Will you stay here with your father and keep on doing important work that could help the rest of the world if you choose to share ? Or will you come to Earth and start another chapter of your life, study with the Academy probably and then choose whatever career fits you best ? And maybe, if you're still willing, have a relationship with this older guy ? You're calling the shots, love. But you're right to worry, there's no way to know where this is going, and as much as I'd like you to come with me, you shouldn't base your decision on what happened here today."


	9. Chapter 9

Jared called Jensen as soon as he saw the message waiting for him, not even bothering to open it.

"You messaged me ?"

"I did. Do you like my gift ?"

"A gift ? I didn't look at it yet. I wanted to see you."

Jensen laughed, and the world seemed to lighten up.

"Then here I am. Look your fill."

How Jensen could be so beautiful and manly at the same time was beyond Jared's comprehension but he wasn't questioning his luck.

"Are you going to sleep soon ?"

"Not really. I have work to do, since I took a long break earlier."

"I wish we could be together."

"You need time to process what happened, and to live your own life. Have you worked at all since we landed ?"

"Now and then, but someone keeps distracting me."

"You have to tell Misha to stop breaking your focus," Jensen answered, deadpan.

It was Jared's turn to laugh.

"That's it, put the blame on the poor robot who can't defend himself."

"I wouldn't dream of it. Though speaking of Misha, do you think he could find and send me the Cadmus' captain's log ?"

"I'm sure he can. What do you need it for ?"

"I have to write a report on what happened after the Cadmus landed on Jardina 4 and how the colonists died. I'm sorry to say that, but I'm not completely sure I can trust your father's recounting of the events."

Jared couldn't help the wave of shame but he found he agreed with Jensen. His father had shown more than once since the Arcadia's landing that he had hidden many facts, even from Jared, and he wanted to know what.

"I'll ask Misha right away," Jared promised, "but I want you to let me know what you find out."

"We have a deal."

They talked for a few more minutes, until Jensen was called by his chief engineer and had to end their conversation. Jared then found Misha and tasked him with sending to Jensen all relevant files about the Cadmus' arrival and stay on Jardina 4 as well as its skipper's log and any other journal available.

When he returned to his room, Jared opened Jensen's earlier message. It read _"Thank you for this wonderful time together. Here's something else to make up for your deprived childhood."_ The adjoined file, titled The Chronicles of Narnia, by someone called C. S. Lewis, had Jared smiling even more at the memory of Jensen on the holodeck, talking about the book, and the proof that he really hadn't forgotten any detail of the afternoon either.

It was a good thing he wasn't ready to sleep at all, because he spent too much time reading the first part of what he discovered to be a long series. Now he understood Jensen's allusion to a wardrobe and regretted his father's choices for his education, wondering what else he had missed by being kept ignorant of many traditions of his ancestors' culture. If he would ever fit on Earth with those big holes that made his formal knowledge look threadbare and lacking.

But most of all, Jared kept thinking of Jensen. What they had done today was better than everything he had ever imagined, and he couldn't wait to do it again.

He was still thinking of Jensen buried deep inside him, kissing him, loving him, when he finally fell asleep.

The fight took place over the plains of Metti, above the Krell's generator safely ensconced deep in the planet. It destroyed everything in its wake, pounding the ground. The two enormous mass were still invisible but somehow knew where to find the other inherently, clashing and crackling fire in the night every time they came in contact.

The very existence of one was an act of war to the other. It had to destroy it, send it back into oblivion, into non-being. There was only place for one, and both wanted to be it.

Boulders crashed and meager trees broke as they kept on fighting. The second beast had gained mass and breadth since their last encounter, but though it wreaked havoc on the surrounding nature, it was still no match to the ancient and it was losing ground in the vicious battle.

Denebel rose over the horizon, bringing her shadowy array of colors to the cloudy atmosphere and the fight took on another dimension, rage filling the adversaries as they kept on trying to destroy each other. And though one had the advantage due to its bigger scale, the other never backed down, giving as good as it got.

When the battle ceased, as swiftly as it had begun, the rocks' debris and burning vegetation signaled for everyone to see the remains of a combat zone, along with massive foot and claw prints etched in the hard soil of the plains.

"Captain," Ensign Miner called him in his office, "I've got new energy readings of the monster."

"Is it getting close to the ship ?"

"No, sir. It's right on top of the power plant you visited with the professor. As far as we know, there's nothing there but dust and desert flora, so there's a good chance for it to be linked to the machines down there."

"Okay. Send a drone to try and see what's happening, but make sure to keep it hidden in the clouds, I don't want to remind that beast of our existence. And keep me informed, Ensign."

"Aye, Captain."

Jensen got back to his own work. Misha had sent him the files he had asked for as soon as Jared had talked to him, adding that he couldn't find any other journal than the skipper's log. Jensen was sure the only reason for this one to still be available was because Jeff Morgan hadn't found the way to tamper with it as much as he'd have liked or to destroy it entirely, just like he probably had gotten rid of his other friends' journals. Captain's logs were protected by a whole slew of defensive measures and hidden back-ups able to copy themselves endlessly, so that in case of an accident, Starfleet could pretty much always recover them to help explain the events.

Morgan had obviously tried very hard to disable the log, and in consequence a few files were too badly corrupted to listen to them, but Jensen didn't ask Misha about the reason for their current state, for fear the robot would realize sending him those files might have been a form a treason to his family and change his mind. As it was, Jensen had only dared requesting them after ingratiating himself with the robot and making him sure he only had Jared's best interests at heart.

Jensen skipped the entries recorded during the trip that he had already skimmed before Miner's call and went directly to the time of Jared's birth.

"Skipper's log, 2479.76. We've welcomed a new inhabitant on Jardina 4. Little Jared was born rather easily, or so said the acting midwife, even though he's a big boy already. The mother chose this name to remind him of his place of birth and to let him know that he was just as desired as his parents had been impatient to get here. Let's hope the kid will be as thrilled as they are when he's stuck on a planet with no playmates. Unless maybe some of the other scientists might follow Dr. Palicki's example – I'd volunteer to help Dr. Henga in that regard anytime – and a cohort of little devils would soon run around the lab, driving the adults crazy. It would just add to the concert of complaints I have to suffer every damn day. Long before we arrived, I already had the feeling that this expedition hadn't really been thought through. No one's particularly good at cooking and they all whine about that, day after day. Maybe the kid's presence will encourage one of those supposedly superior minds to learn how to boil an egg."

"Skipper's log, 2479.78. The Cadmus's been partially wrecked. The comm center, to be precise. If it wasn't such a total mess, metal plates torn like paper, I would accuse some of the nut jobs on the scientific team to make sure we can't get in touch with Starfleet. But seeing the state of my ship, there's something lurking out there that is far more powerful than any humanoid can be. I have to take measures to protect us all. It would be easier to prepare myself and the others if I had the slightest idea of what we have to fight."

"Skipper's log, 2479.125. Dr. Shill died last night. No idea what happened to him, but he's been shredded to death. His state reminded me of what happened to the ship. I know Shill was somewhat disenchanted with the work he got to do here, and the way Professor Morgan has a rule for everything, always "for the greater good." Nowadays, everybody but Addy Palicki calls him _the Professor_ , with equal parts admiration and mocking. And now to suffer such a terrible agony. We've sent search parties to try and find the animal that did it, but no luck so far. The one good thing out of this drama is the fact that everyone looks out for the others. Hopefully it will last. I like the way Dr. Helga looks at me like I'm Superman."

"Skipper's log, 2479.175. Morgan finally shared some of his discoveries from the buried lab – I thought at first that having a kid had mellowed him, but it felt like every word had to be snatched right out of his mouth. The more time passes, the more he raises himself to a particular status, that of a ruler of sort, like he's got a right to command the rest of the colonists. It creates more friction than necessary, and it's not like we can go anywhere else when we're tired of him. Anyway, seems the people living here a long time ago were pretty advanced, tech-wise. That's the one thing I got out of Morgan's explanations, with a taste of worship from him to the memory they've left behind. I bet the great mystery around the cause of their disappearance makes for a lot of his fascination."

"Skipper's log, 2479.318. I've been out of it for three days. I don't know what possessed me to listen to the scientists and try the machine that had sprung to my hands when I passed in front of it. One thing for sure, it won't happen anymore, even if Leah Henga asks so prettily again. Especially if Professor Morgan goads me into trying a little longer when all my senses are telling me to stop. I'm not their rat lab and I would do well to remember that. One of us has to stay clearheaded, and I guess it will be me."

Jensen paused. So Morgan had well and truly lied when he implied the skipper had died because of the Krell's machine he had tried. Furthermore, the skipper hadn't even wanted to try it in the first place, responding only to the feelings he seemed to have nurtured for one of the scientists.

"Skipper's log, 2479.341. Professor Morgan has been deep in a coma for the last three weeks. The fool used the same machine I did, but of course he had to do it more and better, arguing, despite Addy Palicki's attempts to reason with him, that he had already tried it once and that nothing had happened, which meant he had missed something. I guess he couldn't have a lowly pilot show him off or appear braver. Addy is sick with worry and she still has to look like nothing is wrong for her son."

"Skipper's log, 2480.51. The expedition celebrates its second birth on Jardina 4. It's a boy, he's 6' tall, weighs 176 pounds, and goes by the name of Misha. He was born to Addy Palicki and Jeff Morgan, his creators, and, like his "parents," shows a marked tendency to be bright and wordy, especially for someone his age. I guess we'll know soon enough which one of them he takes more after – my money's on Addy, and my hopes too ! One Morgan is insufferable, two would be mitigating circumstances in case someone couldn't resist the idea of strangling one or both."

"Skipper's log, 2480.93. Dr. Helii said she was working last night in the main Krell's laboratory when suddenly the lights on the walls went crazy. At around the same time, Leah was killed by the beast, back from her monthly report to the Professor and on her way to see me. I was asleep, I didn't hear anything. Didn't help her, or hold her hand, her body while she was dying. I swear I'll find this scum and make it pay. It will die too, but not before I've made it suffer the way all our friends have suffered, torn apart by claws and fangs. I will kill it and make it regret the day it was born."

Jensen could imagine all too well the pain the skipper had gone through at the death of his lover. He swore to never let such a fate happen to Jared, fighting images of the young man bloody and lifeless as they tried to invade his thoughts. Jared would be safe. He had to be.

"Skipper's log, 2480.97. Adrianne performed an autopsy on Leah. She hardly dared to come to me with her conclusions. She said Leah probably didn't suffer much, killed almost instantly when her throat was ripped open. The terrible news Addy couldn't quite manage to tell me is that Leah was pregnant. I lost not only the woman I loved, but also our child. We need to get off this planet. As soon as possible, before anyone else becomes prey to the beast. I know I'm not alone in that opinion. I'm pretty sure even Addy wants to leave and put Jared out of harm's way, but Morgan doesn't want to hear a word about it, and she can't imagine leaving her husband behind. At this point, I don't care what the man wants or doesn't want anymore. I know we have to leave, otherwise we'll soon be all dead."

"Skipper's log, 2480.113. This fool Morgan has destroyed the long-range communicator I had managed to jury-rig with what was left of the Cadmus comms. His theory is that the monster killed most people while they were on their way to the ship, or at the very least walking outside. No murders ever took place inside. He's sure it means something and that, in order to stay alive, we have to forget the idea of leaving. Show the beast we won't abandon it alone on this forsaken planet. He's so full of it ! Always so sure he has all the answers and knows better than anyone else. I punched him. Shows him what he knows. He said that in deference to my great loss he wouldn't call me on it. I punched him again."

"Skipper's log, 2480.203. I don't know what to think anymore. A terrible idea came to me and now I can't seem to be able to forget about it. The killings began soon after Jared's birth. What if he's somehow linked to them ? I have no idea how, and he's usually a pretty cool kid, smiling at everyone and gently playing by himself. But all children throw temper tantrums from time to time. What if Jared's were too big and nasty for even an adult to fight them off ? What if something in the air, or the local vegetables we eat, had poisoned him ? I'm probably just going crazy, like my sleep pattern has been lately."

The research Jensen had conducted showed Adrian Holmes to be a seasoned captain, a good man with a past speaking for his courage and intelligence. Jensen couldn't imagine him losing it so completely, even after the death of his lover and his unborn child, that he would hallucinate some magical causes behind the killings. Even not at the level of the other colonists, he had enough of a scientific background himself to cast a wary look over nebulous theories. And yet he couldn't believe – didn't want to – that Jared had anything to do with the killings, even though he couldn't take the risk to ignore the possibility.

"Dr. Palicki's log, 2480.252. Adrian is dead. The monster got him, of course. I don’t know how it happened but it's clear he was killed in a fury and the laser marks, all around the scene, prove he didn't go down quietly. He had become a good friend and I'll miss him. I'll fill his log as well to the best of my abilities, even though I can't believe he thought Jared might be guilty of anything in this massacre. My sweet baby, the light of my life in this hell that Jardina 4 has become. From now on, it's only Jared, Jeff and me."

"Dr. Palicki's log, 2480.278. I feel like I'm constantly under watch. From Jeff, from Misha (by Jeff's order), but not only. There's something lurking around, getting closer, and I fear I'm going to be the next victim of the savage beast that killed all our friends. I'm sick with terror when I think of what it could do to Jared. It's hard to get a grip on your emotions when your little boy is in danger. And this permanent sensation of surveillance doesn't help. Jeff and I, we keep on fighting. His sleep is restless and it makes him more and more erratic. I want to call Starfleet and ask for their help, but Jeff refuses to build a new communicator, stuck on the same argument, the fact that everybody believes him dead, and that our friends got killed when they tried to get to the ship. That it's too dangerous to even entertain the thought of leaving. I don't know how to convince him anymore."

"Dr. Palicki's log, 2480.347. I walked to the ship this morning – I might have pushed Jeff to drink more than usual to make sure he would sleep in – and found it in better shape that I was led to believe. Jeff had said the machines were destroyed, but it's not true. I don't understand why he lied, but I guess he was too afraid of the risks for me and Jared and wanted to keep us far from the Cadmus – how ironic that our ship was named after one of the greatest slayers of monsters in Greek mythology, and yet Jeff can't believe in its power to get us safely back home."

"Dr. Palicki's log, 2481.31. It's getting worse. I've seen it now, or rather how powerful it is. The monster itself was invisible, but I saw it breaking a giant tree like it was a twig. I saw it deflecting the deadly rays of a phaser. I screamed in panic, and then it was gone. That's the only thing that kept me alive, I know it. But it was so close to our home ! I've come to the conclusion that we can't stay here. I need to protect my baby and I've lost hope to change my husband's mind. So Jeff, I'm locking this entry for the time being, but if you find this when I'm gone, know that my heart is breaking for leaving you behind. Despite all my pleading, you've refused to see reason and I can't wait anymore. I have to do this. I'm not only your wife, I'm a mother, and my first duty goes to my son. I can't allow anything to threaten him and this planet's not safe. I know the Cadmus is operational. I'm not sure how I'll manage to fly it back to Earth with only Misha's help, but I have to take that chance. I will ask Starfleet to come and rescue you, and I hope you will join us back on Earth. I love you."

This was the last recording made by Adrianne Palicki. The only person who might tell him the truth about her own death was Misha, and Jensen lost no time calling him. There was a good chance the robot didn't have to sleep like any other human, or not as much anyway, and this was confirmed when Misha answered his call immediately.

"Misha, what can you tell me about the day Adrianne died ? Based on what she wrote, she intended to take you with her and Jared to Earth. Did it happen ?"

"It did. Adrianne was like a mother to me, in the literal sense of the word. She played the biggest part in building and educating me, and she used to tell me I was her second son. Even the little bit of blood I require to function was taken from her. She'd never have abandoned me on Jardina 4."

"So she tried to get to the ship, and then what ?"

"We left late at night, while the professor was sleeping, to make sure he wouldn't try to stop us. We were just about to arrive when the monster manifested itself. The vehicle we possessed back then ran into an invisible wall. The shock was terrible, but fortunately I was cradling baby Jared in my arms and so was able to protect him. Adrianne was not so lucky and she was ejected through the window. It is my belief that she was already dead, or close to it, when the monster took hold of her body and wrecked it. She had no chance to survive."

"What about you and Jared ? What happened ?"

"I ran. With Jared still in my arms, I ran as fast as I could toward the house. I heard a terrible noise but didn't stop to check. I knew the monster had grabbed the vehicle and was using it like a bat to destroy the ship."

"One of our drones surveyed the area, the only remains of the Cadmus are rusty sheets of metal the vegetation has overgrown. Running probably saved you and Jared."

"That is correct. I arrived at the house and woke the professor to tell him what had happened. He was crazy with despair and it was all I could do to stop him from running to Adrianne. I told him that his wife was dead but Jared needed him more than ever. The baby was crying so hard, and I didn't know what to do. The professor took him in his arms and cuddled him, sang him lullabies, but it was a long time before Jared calmed down."

"Does Jared know about these events ?"

"He never asked me, and I doubt the professor would tell him, not to mention he wasn't a witness to the facts. Do you feel I should lie to Jared in case he asks for details ?"

Jensen was very tempted to say yes, but he knew it wasn't the right thing to do.

"No, just tell him to talk to me about it. I think I may have a better chance at finding the words to spare him too much grief."

"I understand. I will do as you said."

"Thanks, Misha, for sharing your memories with me, it couldn't be easy to remember such tragic moments. And for taking such good care of our boy."

"You're very welcome. I feel indeed like Jared is my brother of sorts, and I like to take care of him."

"I know, he's lucky. One last thing by the way : could you tell the professor that I need Jared's ID ?"

"Jared's ID ?"

"Yes. Considering there's no clerk or town office on Jardina 4, I'll take anything vaguely official to register Jared into our database as a potential citizen of Earth, like anyone born in space. You know, full name, date and hour of birth, parents' names… that kind of thing. Once it's done, as an Earthling, he will be able to call for Starfleet's help at any time."

"That's a very good thing. I'll be sure to tell the professor as soon as he wakes up."

"Thanks again, Misha. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Captain."

The night would be short, but Jensen couldn't regret it as he now felt he had a much better understanding of the situation.


	10. Chapter 10

"Captain," Genevieve interrupted Jensen as he was reading the night's reports while trying again to stifle a persistent yawn, "Professor Morgan sent the information you requested about Jared's birth and identity."

"Very well. Forward them to my PADD, I want to review them before you send anything to Starfleet – I mean as soon as the long-range comms will be back online..."

He didn't really know what he was looking for with this. Just that the professor had ticked when Jensen had once called his son Palicki-Morgan in front of him. Jensen could still feel the man's unvoiced irritation.

And there it was, for all eyes to see. Contrary to every rule or habit in use these days on Earth, Jared's surname had been abbreviated to the one of his father only. No mention of his mother's last name, save for the line saying "Son of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Adrianne Palicki."

He didn't know the professor that much, but in the short time spent on Jardina 4, he had come up with the certainty that Morgan was really possessive of his son, nowhere near ready to see him go and leave the nest despite being now an adult, and this way of forgetting his whole name was just another indication of his state of mind. And after everything he had learned during the night, he was more and more inclined to believe the man would never let his son go, whatever Jared's decision may be.

"Captain," the comm officer added, "the professor also said that he's taking you up on your offer to visit the ship and that he will be here this afternoon around 04:00 pm if it's okay with you."

"Nice of him to check first," Jensen muttered before he turned back to Genevieve. "Tell him I'll be honored to take him on a tour of the Arcadia and that I'll have him transported here as soon as he calls us."

He wondered what had finally decided Morgan to come out of his self-imposed seclusion. Was it because solitude proved too hard to take when a few hundred talking beings camped at your doorstep after years of being alone ? Or was it Jensen's nosiness about his son and past events that had him investigating in his turn a potential enemy ?

The worst part of it was that Jensen couldn't blame the professor without looking like a hypocrite. Jared didn't only made him foolish and needy. He also made him jealous and possessive. It was getting harder each time he saw him to act like the experienced man he was, the clear-headed and responsible captain. Impossible to let him go and accept that others might touch him and make him theirs.

He almost forgot about the professor after Jared had joined him on the bridge, going from one station to another to talk with his officers about their jobs and learn everything he could. Jared also shadowed Jensen whenever he had to go somewhere else, and stole kisses every time he felt he could get away with it.

Jensen didn't put much effort into pushing him away. Jared had this effect on him, making him forget everything else. Whenever he used the holodeck in situations and sceneries he had already been through, and particularly his childhood's environment, Jensen couldn't help but be aware of the discrepancies. This time, though, lost in Jared and their lovemaking, everything had seemed perfect, nothing missing or out of place. Jared was there in his arms, and only their combined pleasures mattered.

"Captain," Genevieve hailed him over the comm, "the professor called to say he was ready."

"Very well, "Jensen answered in a kind of daze while Jared kept kissing his neck, "have him beamed up aboard the Arcadia. I'll be meeting him at the transporter."

"Aye, sir."

It took him all the time down to the transporter room to get out of the mood Jared had put him in and feel ready to welcome his lover's father.

Ensign Royster was blushing bright when Jensen reached the transporter room. He wondered if she had traded hours with a colleague to be sure to catch the infamous professor. One thing was sure : the man had charmed her already, showing a new side of his personality Jensen was more than surprised to discover.

"Professor," he said, "welcome on board."

One of the things that had pushed Jeff to leave Earth was Starfleet's hidden quest for always more weapons. The brass might coat it with the need to be able to defend the Federation but still, it all came down to the possession of weapons more powerful and numerous than your opponents. Be they from afar or from Earth herself.

Ackles was no different in that regard, judging by the display of weaponry available on his ship, ready to be fired at his first order.

"I thought you called yourself a pacifist," Jeff said, full of scorn. "How do you condone those big lasers and all the destructive arms you have on board ?"

"Pacifist doesn't mean idiotic. I come offering peace, but I'm fully prepared to defend the people under my care as well as myself. Those destructive arms, as you say, are sometimes the only way to protect ourselves. Travelling through unknown space is exciting, but fraught with danger. This ship is our home, we need to be able to shield her from anything thrown at us."

Obviously, they'd never see eye to eye on the matter. But Ackles had other aces up his sleeve to which Jeff couldn't remain indifferent. The most important of them being those sultry lips and athletic body made for love. Sleeping with the young captain would alleviate the boredom of sex with Misha – the guy was so damn passive in bed, Jeff swore it was like humping a log sometimes – and it would make sure to show Jared once and for all that the man was out of his reach. A difficult lesson, but one that had to be taught to restore the good father-son relationship they had always enjoyed and keep the intruder out of it.

To reach these goals, Jeff was ready to offer many compromises since there was a good chance for the ship to be able to leave despite the danger. Nothing was more important than keeping Starfleet out of his hair. Off of his planet.

"I'm willing to consider sending to Starfleet a monthly report of our findings," Jeff proposed as they came back from a tour of the impressive medbay, "but in exchange, I need your promise that there will be no other scientists sent to Jardina 4. Jared and I, and Misha of course, we're the only ones authorized on the planet, if only because I can't guarantee anyone else's safety. Do you think you can broker that deal with the Admirals back on Earth ?"

"I can at least relay your terms. They'll certainly take into consideration the advances you've already made and the fact that no one knows the Krell and their civilization better than you. But I'm afraid I can't promise more than that."

Jeff felt the same old annoyance at these words as whenever someone wouldn't readily comply with his demands. He had become even more impatient with age and the now-ingrained habit of commanding his house according to their needs. He wasn't about to cave in and Ackles probably saw the storm coming as he changed the subject.

"I'm going to have to go back to work, but would you like to have dinner later with my officers and me ? I believe our chief cook would enjoy the challenge of competing with Misha's talent for your appreciation."

"I'd love that, but I also need to get back home to my research. Rain check ?"

"Absolutely."

The captain's comm rang then, a woman's voice asking urgently for his presence on the bridge.

"I'm taking Professor Morgan back to the transporter and I'll be there right away, Lieutenant."

After a short walk, Ackles stopped in front of the transporter room's door and offered his hand.

"I'm sorry to cut this visit short, Professor, but as you can see a captain's job is never finished. I'm glad you came today and I hope you enjoyed your time onboard."

"Definitely. Thank you for having me, and I hope we'll get another chance for dinner, together, before you have to leave."

"I hope so. Good evening."

Jeff fiddled with his PADD as if he had just received a message of his own, waiting for the turbolift's door to close on Ackles before he changed direction. Now without a guardian, he could leisurely stroll through the ship and see everything Ackles had tried to keep from him.

It was not as easy as he thought, as most personnel knew who he was and stopped to shake his hand, telling him how glad they were to meet such an eminent scientist. Many asked for a picture, and Jeff couldn't really refuse for fear one of them would take offense and question his wandering alone inside the Arcadia.

After the fifth time, he became more cautious, changing tracks to avoid meeting people if he could, walking with his face down when he couldn't. It worked well enough until he rounded a corner and stopped dead upon seeing Jared at the end of the corridor, talking with another man who seemed awfully cozy with him judging by the fingers playing with his son's right nipple.

"We've got to stop meeting like that," the man said, "people are gonna talk."

Jared laughed at the same time he pushed the man's hand away, but it only encouraged him to use his other hand on the left nipple. Jared laughed again, and then pushed him away again.

"Chad ! Be good !"

"I can't, and it's all your fault. You're so fucking sexy ! Come to my room and I'll show you how good I can be."

Chad winked and Jeff wanted to punch him.

"You know that's not going to happen," Jared thankfully denied him.

"Just a little kiss, then ? One little kiss to tide me over and give me something to dream about while I cook dinner."

Jared looked at him fondly and Jeff was sure, knowing his son for the softie he was, that he would agree. Therefore it was no surprise when Jared leaned down to brush his lips lightly against the other man's mouth. There was no passion in this kiss, and Jeff felt relieved to see for himself that Jared would not miss yet another man after they were all gone.

What surprised him anyway was Chad's hands finding their way to Jared's ass as if they were at home, squeezing hard enough to make Jared yelp.

Furious, Jeff was about to intervene and rough the vile Earthling a bit to let him know what it cost to try and take what wasn't his to enjoy, but three crewmen appeared then at the end of the corridor, forcing Jared and Chad to separate. Jeff hid deep inside his own corridor to make sure the two humans and one alien he couldn't place would not see him and begin to gush at him forever.

By the time he got out, Jared was already gone and Chad was walking away. Jeff debated following him to teach him a good lesson, but he didn't need more bad blood with Captain Ackles – especially not if he hoped to get him into his bed before the ship's departure – and Jared seemed to be handling the situation well enough.

"Suck it up !" he told himself. Jared had to find out for himself what was really important, realize the only thing that mattered was their work on Jardina 4. He had to trust him to understand.

And if he didn't…

He kept wandering for a little while, founding the galley on his way but sadly the cook wasn't there. He himself was found a few minutes later by Lieutenant Harris, proof that those Starfleet types weren't that dumb in the end, and escorted firmly – if politely – to the transporter room where she waited until his dematerialized molecules were sent back home.


	11. Chapter 11

Jared still didn't know how to feel about Chad's inappropriate fondling. It had been mostly amusing at first, but the fact that Chad wouldn't take no for an answer and kept pushing boundaries again and again had quickly pissed him off and they had parted on a few bad words. He didn't know if this kind of attitude was common on Earth, or if the alcohol had motivated Chad's behavior.

He wondered if he should tell Jensen about his encounter with the cook. The poor guy had been more than a bit tipsy, as evidenced by his breath, and he was sure the captain would disapprove, maybe even put an official reprimand on his record, so it was probably better to keep quiet. On the other hand, he didn't want to risk directing Jensen's anger at himself, in case someone had seen them and talked to his lover.

He wasn't very good yet at this whole relationship thing.

But it seemed being honest was the best choice here. Plus Jensen had agreed to let him sleep with him on the ship, spend the night in his arms, and he didn't want to be thinking about that all night long.

He probably downplayed Chad's behavior in order to try and protect him, but his recount was still faithful enough that Jensen was as pissed as Jared had been. Maybe even a little more, if what Jared thought was jealousy counted too.

"I'm gonna teach that pervert to keep his hands to himself if that's the last thing I do."

"Don't talk like that ! There's been too many deaths already in my life. Yours would kill me."

Jensen took him in his arms and kissed him in apology.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. Just a figure of speech. But don't get me wrong. I don't tolerate sexual harassment and alcohol is not an excuse."

"Is it because I wear only shorts ? You told me people on Earth wore a lot more clothes, and that's one of the things I remarked on when you showed me all those places on the holodeck."

"I don't care if it's because you keep your hair long and it reminds him of his first love. Murray will get the reprimand he deserves, especially after I already warned him. Letting this attitude pass unnoticed would only encourage him to continue. It ends now."

"Okay, but you don't have to tell him just this minute, right ?"

Jared kissed him.

"No, I guess tomorrow morning will be soon enough."

"Good.

Jared kissed him again to help him forget about Chad and his naughty hands. More kisses followed, and soon they were on the bed, making out with an intensity that was getting Jared hard fast.

"Red alert ! Red alert ! Intrusion on deck 8. Security, head to deck 8 section 18B."

"The galley !" Jensen translated.

Jared was still trying to understand what this meant while Jensen was leaping out of the bed to put his boots back on and then run out of his room. Jared could only run after him. He knew danger was ahead of them, and he wouldn't let Jensen confront it alone.

He caught the turbolift just in time before the door closed.

"You're not coming with me," Jensen told him, preparing his phaser.

"Yes, I am. I will not cower in your bedroom while you're headed for danger."

"Jared, you have no battle training, you don't know how to shoot. What do you think you can do ?"

"I don't know, but if there's even the smallest chance I can help, you bet I'll take it."

Jared sighed deeply and kissed him quickly right before the door reopened.

"Okay, but stay behind me, and listen to me. If I say run, you run."

They progressed quickly but as stealthily as possible in the corridors leading to the galley. They knew they were on the right track because of the terrible noise of the walls being torn apart by something strong enough to destroy everything in its path. Soon they began to see the damages, like a storm had entered the ship and was trying to find a way out by any means necessary. They caught up with Lieutenant Harris and her crew, crouching among the debris and waiting for orders.

With a series of hand gestures, Jensen got them to move into strategic places, still hidden by the pieces of broken walls and other blasted furniture but able to _not-see_ the beast in the continuous ravage visited on the Arcadia. They didn't have time to put much of a plan in place. A human scream was heard and Jared felt his blood turn to ice. He was pretty sure that was Chad's voice yelling in agony. Chad's bloody body being tossed in their direction. Debris flying closer to their position. Far too close.

A small fire started in the wreckage, immediately put out by a whitish gas coming from what was left of the ceiling. And suddenly the beast took shape for two seconds in front of their petrified eyes as it moved through the smoke, creeping toward them, before the one blower still working rid them of this advantage.

From the corner of his eyes, Jared saw Jensen grab his communicator and he tried his best to pay attention despite his terror.

"Ty, now !"

A red-shirted crewwoman was suddenly dragged from her hiding spot, screaming in horror before she too was tossed like a rag doll.

"Balaban !" Dann yelled, revealing her position.

Jared wanted to yell too to attract the beast's attention, maybe march to it, but it was as if Jensen had sensed his thoughts and put a hand on his arm to stop him. At the same time, they heard the familiar sound of the transporter going off and a deafening roar signaling the fury of the beast at this feeling of powerlessness. In the next instant, all sounds ceased, the men and women staring warily, and somehow dumbfounded, at the wreckage around them.

The officers were the first to move. Danneel kneeled next to Ensign Balaban, touching her neck for any sign of life, but it was clear from her face and vacant eyes that the crewwoman was dead. Jared followed Jensen in search of Chad, pushing away dangling cables and torn walls.

"Here !" Jared exclaimed.

Covered in blood, Chad was lying among rubble, his limbs at various odd angles. It seemed the bones that had survived the encounter with the beast had been broken upon meeting the floor, and Jared hoped he had already lost consciousness by that time, long before his death.

And then he saw Chad's hand twitching.

"He's alive ! Call Dr. McKinney !"

Jensen made to grab his communicator again but the doctor arrived right that moment with two of his own men and a stretcher. Chad moaned, blood oozing from his mouth as the orderlies moved him, as gentle as they were. All the while, Dr. McKinney passed his tricorder over Chad's body and his face was grim by the end of the exam.

"I'm not sure why he's still alive, but I intend to keep him that way. Gentlemen, back to medbay. Gently, but speedily."

As Jensen and Jared emerged from what was left of the galley into the corridor, they were met by Ty Olsson and Danneel.

"It seems your contingency plan worked, Captain," Ty congratulated Jensen.

"Where did you send the monster ?" Jared asked the chief engineer.

"Deep into space, far from the other side of the planet. With a bit of luck, far enough that it won't ever come back."

"I wouldn't count on it," Jensen predicted.

"How did it pass through the force field ?!" Dann asked, furious, in a tightly controlled voice. "We checked everywhere, it was holding up, no hole in the grid."

"It means it's adapting, and we don't have much time before my tricks stop protecting us. For now, increase the force field's speed, and let's hope the beast won't come back, or that it will be enough to keep it at bay. Also, cancel any leave and use any personnel from other departments who can help. Double shift for everyone if necessary until the repairs are done. We need to get off this planet. Soon."

"Aye, Captain," Ty said before he went to carry his orders.

"Go get some sleep, Dann," Jensen commanded with a hand on her shoulder to let her know he understood what she was going through, "you've done all you could for tonight."

She nodded and squeezed his hand before she shrugged it off.

"Goodnight, Jensen. You too, Jared."

Jared waited until everyone had cleared the place to take Jensen in his arms and let the feeling of his warm body ground him again.


	12. Chapter 12

Thanks to Misha and Jared, who lent a hand while Arcadia personnel were needed elsewhere, instant communication with Earth was finally restored and Jensen tasked Genevieve with connecting him with Jim Beaver as quickly as possible.

"Do you have something for me ?" he asked as soon as his old mentor's face appeared on the screen.

"I do. First, let me tell you that on the surface, Professor Morgan is squeaky clean. Genius, assertive…"

"So basically, you got nothing," Jensen provoked his old friend.

"Don't try to steal my thunder, boy, and let me speak. Especially after you woke me up the other day in the middle of one of the best dreams ever."

"I'm all ears. And I'm not talking about your sexy dream."

"Good. Well, too clean means there's something to hide, so I dug deeper, and your professor instantly became a lot more interesting. For he was not always the revered and esteemed multiple PhDs professor honoris causa. His life began through trying circumstances. Abandoned by his parents, brought up in foster care by families you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy, he didn't catch a break until one of his teachers realized the kid was crazy good in physics and got him a scholarship to study at MIT. His professors reported him to be short-tempered and cagey, kind of a lone wolf, but brilliant, so much so that it didn't take long before he left them in the dust. Starfleet became interested and offered him a job, but soon they clashed on the small matter of Morgan's salary. To make sure he wouldn't go and seek private deals, he was authorized to register some patents in his name, but of course it led to bitter recrimination on both parts, and that's probably when Morgan began to look for an exit since he was bound by contract to keep working for the Federation and teaching young minds."

"All this matches pretty well the man I've got to know. What about his private life ?"

"I guess he felt trapped there too, and it's no surprise when you think of the way he grew up and the possible abuse he had to suffer, not to mention that the few relationships of note that I could find out about all ended badly. One sued him for his most interesting patent – financially speaking, of course – and the court settled on shared income, at Morgan's great fury. Another one tried to make him cough up the dough after his denial of paternity (it was soon proved the kid was not his)… The only woman he seemed genuinely in love with left him for another guy and she declared she couldn't cope anymore with his insane jealousy and constant hovering. She took with her the child she had from a previous union, and although Morgan sued for visitation rights as he had helped to raise the boy for more than two years, he was denied, in light of his infamous bad temper that was probably blown out of proportion by the mother, and never saw him again."

"Damn ! You'd write a tear-jerker out of such a life. When did he meet Adrianne Palicki ?"

"A few months before they left, and it's unclear if they were a couple for long or not at that time."

"He told us that they married on the ship when they discovered she was pregnant so, long or not, their relationship was quite solid and important enough to each of them. And after what you told me, I understand why he'd want to make sure his own biological child was legally his. In fact, a lot of things pertaining to Jared now make sense. I just wonder why he thought he had to stage his death before he left. Did you research the other scientists he left with ?"

"Cronies, pretty much. Very good in their own fields, but totally under Morgan's thumb, or so their families say. I'm inclined to believe their opinion since those scientists had nothing to gain by leaving Earth and they quickly ceased contacting anyone back home, as if there was a ban on transmissions. They were not really surprised to learn most of them were likely dead."

"I'm sorry you had to be the messenger of such bad news."

"Don't worry about me, it's not the first time I had to tell parents that their child had died or disappeared out there, and it probably won't be the last. Just make sure I won't ever have to go to your parents, will you ?"

Jensen's silence was conspicuous even to his own ears.

"Jensen ? What's on your mind ?"

"A lot of questions," he sighed.

"Are you looking for something special ?"

"Just trying to cross-check facts about Morgan, get a feel for the man and what makes him tick.

"So my findings were enough ?"

"They confirmed what I was thinking already. And the danger I'm sure we're in."

"The danger ?!"

"I've had Genevieve sending you all the documents we could gather and we'll do so again right before we leave. Which won't be long now, two days at most. In case we don't make it, there's something I want you to know."

Jared had gone back home for the end of the day, wanting to spend some time with his father – never adding "before I leave for Earth" but the words were there in the air, almost tangible – and Jensen had to deal with the niggling worry of letting him out of his sight. If last night had proved anything, it was that the monster's ability to thwart all plans and contradict any expectation was beyond good.

The way the beast had managed to get inside the ship despite the force field spoke of its cunning and capacity to adapt. This was no mere animal, there was definitely an intelligent mind at work here. A method to this madness.

He heard himself again, saying to Jared that humans were pretty much all gory monsters.

The thing was, he had heard twice yesterday about Chad Murray, and one of them was in direct relation to Jared. Now it seemed impossible to Jensen to keep believing the attacks were in any way random. The monster had come right to the galley. That it hadn't managed to kill Murray was sheer dumb luck, and Jared had left with the order to hide that fact from his father or Misha, should one of them ask about how his night on board had gone. To everyone but a few officers – and Jared – Murray had died shortly after being admitted in medbay. He was currently being treated in a restricted section under the exclusive care of Dr. McKinney and two nurses the CMO knew he could trust to keep their mouths shut.

Over the breakfast table, still naked as the day he was born and his hair wet after their shared shower, Jared had laughed at Jensen's order and caressed his leg with a foot.

"I like that ! It makes me feel like I'm one of your men."

And Jensen had shivered with lust, imagining Jared obeying orders of a different kind in their bedroom.

"Good, but I'm serious, Jared. We can't be sure my teleporting trick will work a second time, and Murray won't survive another round against the monster."

"I understand. I promise I won't tell anyone. But that means you think he was targeted, right ?"

"I can't overlook any possibility, and this has crossed my mind, yes."

"But why ? Do you… do you think it's my fault ?"

"What ? Why would I think that ? And even if I had any doubt, you were right by my side, as much at risk as any of us."

Jared had looked downright relieved, as if waiting on Jensen's opinion to trust himself again.

"I guess I can't help remembering how you refused to let us know what kind of force field you were using, and then the night I'm inside the ship, the monster managed to get inside. As if I had let him in."

"Don't forget your father was in too, today. And Misha, for that matter, just like you, pretty much every day since the first time you both came aboard. Even hypothesizing that the monster is somehow following one of you, it doesn't explain how it's able to adapt. There has to be something else."

"You already have an idea ?"

"More of an educated guess. What can you tell me about the Krell's machines that your father wouldn't ?"

"They're not really dangerous. They seem adapted to any mind, if used with the respect they deserve, and even more if you stick to the ones that can have a positive effect on you, or so Dad found in the library."

"Did he stick to those ones ?"

"I'm not sure, but I guess his coma when I was a baby could indicate that maybe he didn't. I'm just not sure."

"Why is that ?"

Jared flashed a small, embarrassed grin.

"The truth is, I tried pretty much all the devices in the Krell's labs, though my dad still thinks I didn't. I don't know if it is because I grew up using them, at a time my mind was still very malleable, or if something of Jardina 4 has been in me since my very birth, but I never felt any difficulty mastering them. On the contrary, I felt in synch with them. But I took care to use them only when my dad was too preoccupied with some lengthy experiment. I'm pretty sure he never suspected me. Misha only knew because he found me altering the recordings, but he promised to shut up if I was cautious."

"Were you ?"

Jared's only answer had been an amused grin this time.

Now, contrary to what he had told his lover, Jensen had to consider the possibility that Jared might be the culprit stirring the monster, the mastermind, even unwittingly, that had killed four of his men in the seven days they had been stuck on Jardina 4. He had Jared's own confession of using the Krell's devices on a regular basis, and he couldn't dismiss the skipper's intuitions. He owed it to his crew, for they trusted him to keep them safe.

But he couldn't believe it. He knew Jared, and Jeff Morgan as the killer made too much sense.

Jared had been upset at Chad over his "unwanted fondling" but not that much that he would have killed him. His father, on the other hand, could see Chad as a potential rival in his son's affection. And it hadn't been difficult for Genevieve to find imaged proof of the professor's presence in the corridor next to where Jared and Chad had met and at the same time.

Jensen had smacked himself – metaphorically – for leaving Morgan unattended before he had seen him effectively transported out of the ship. But he had soon put it in the tit for tat column. The professor wasn't the only one able to arrange for a bit of snooping. Jensen had spent enough time at the Morgans' to manage one day to get back unnoticed into the Krell's lab and play, unsupervised, with their shiny machines.

One had stood out, for some reason. One that had come forward before he even got in front of it, as if sensing they were compatible to the highest degree. Jensen had taken it in hand and immediately felt a temporary dizziness, followed by blinding images of those he loved and the places he enjoyed. Jared and the Arcadia, his family and Texas.

It seemed the device had connected some of his previously dormant synapses, rearranged neural pathways, cleared his mind. That's what Gil had said, anyway, after cursing him, in long and incredibly dull ways, for being so stupid and forcing him to pass a whole battery of even more boring tests.

It was difficult to explain to his old friend why he didn't regret taking that calculated risk. They needed an edge to fight the beast, and he couldn't order any of his men to do this. It had to be him.

And now he could "feel" things, for lack of a better word. His empathy had more than doubled, allowing him to sense other people's emotions, beginning with Jared's, but it wasn't the only gift he had received. He wouldn't call this other ability precognition, for he didn't quite believe in such things, but he found himself with a much enhanced capacity to deduce the most likely outcome of a chain of events, some that hadn't come to pass yet, but were themselves so very likely.

It was a good thing he didn't believe in fate either, or that destiny was set in stone. Because the odds so far when it came to their chances of leaving Jardina 4 unscathed weren't that great. But that was the edge he needed, the knowledge of what would probably happen, why and how, to make sure he could prevent it.


	13. Chapter 13

Adam felt demotivated. He had done so well, worked his ass off to save the Arcadia, but always he fell short of the mark. The captain had hardly taken a look at his reports, too entranced and enamored with the Morgan boy to care about anyone else.

True, Jared was pretty incredible. Such knowledge at such a young age highlighted the fact that he was destined to do great things, and in that moment, it felt like Captain Ackles would soon give him Adam's position on board.

He couldn't help admiring him, though. The boy had helped all around the ship, finding replacement solutions whenever the Arcadia's machines were too mangled to repair. He was not only a savant, his brain worked fast, in the same manner as the Captain. Problems meant solutions to be found. And he found them.

Now the Captain took him everywhere. No one had called upon Adam during the last attack, and he had arrived only to find Jared assisting Ackles, ready to fight at his side.

Adam shut off the computer and the light and then walked back to his quarters. Better catch up on sleep. Tomorrow should be the last day they spent on Jardina 4. After that, Jared Morgan would hopefully be just a memory.

But he didn't really believe that. Everyone with eyes could see that the boy wanted to leave his prison and follow them back to Earth to keep infiltrating the Arcadia and make himself be loved by the crew.

Unless Adam could suggest another future, one that would be much more enticing than being a captain's lapdog, by convincing him to go to the Academy – no, Jared would be easy, he was probably thinking about it already. The one he needed to convince to encourage Jared was his father. If the boy was anything like Jeff Morgan, he would love studying. With a bit of luck, taking Adam's job would soon appear a negligible goal compared to the laurels he could gather and the prestige of a teaching position at Starfleet.

That was the plan. He would work on it starting tomorrow.

_Denebel. High sky. Stormy weather. House._

_Closer. Jared. Thief. Whore. Thief._

Flower bushes and shrubs were pushed to the ground and stomped on as the big entity approached the sleeping house.

_Window. Closed. Break._

The entity raised its fists and hit the window with all the power it could muster. There was a yell inside, but the window didn't break.

It hit again and again, angrier than ever that it could see its prey but not reach it. Another small being was standing in front of it, laughingly trying to protect it.

Its anger was sudden and irresistible as it was filled with the knowledge that the second entity had reappeared, blocking its expansion by coming its way. It turned away from the prey and faced its opponent. Tonight, it would make it disappear from the surface of the planet.

With a terrible roar, both entities threw themselves at each other, sparks flying and igniting plants that a flying service robot immediately sprayed with water until the moment it got caught in the fight and was crushed between the monsters.

The combat went on for some time, the younger entity losing ground and power as they traded punches and bites, up until the moment it couldn't withstand it anymore.

It fled and showed up again in a different place.

_Captain. Liar. Traitor._

_Lecherous. Pervert. Liar. Captain._

The entity found its way into the brightly lit corridor of the ship. It was a tight fit but it managed, standing in front of the captain's door. It raised its fists once again, and this time the material was no match against them. Splinters flew all around and the rest of the door crumpled to the floor.

The entity roared when laser shots hit it, from inside the captain's quarters first, but it couldn't see where it came from in the darkness of the room, and then from outside.

_Thief. Jealous. Rival. Adversary. Harris._

It turned to the new prey and sent her flying, taking great satisfaction in the sound of her body meeting the wall.

Then a loud and high noise filled the corridor and the entity vanished.

Adam woke up at the first sound of the alarm. Heart beating too fast, he realized the monster was on board once again.

He wondered if he should show up at the place of trouble, if it would change anything. Him being present or not didn't help. The captain had his precious Lieutenant Harris to count on for this kind of situation.

He forced himself to get up anyway and called the bridge to find out what was happening.


	14. Chapter 14

The garden was a mess.

His relationship with his son was not faring much better.

They had had words in the morning, Jeff refusing to let Jared go back to the ship, calling Ackles to tell him he was not to accept his son again on the Arcadia, and Jared had snapped. For the first time of his life, as furious as Jeff was, Jared had spoken louder than him, yelled and threatened. And he hadn't backed down.

Their argument over, Jared had called the pretty tech in the transporter room and asked her to beam him on board the ship, dematerializing right in front of Jeff to show him what he thought of his orders.

It had taken quite some time, the calm of the garden, preserved even through the storm that had taken place there during the night, and then finally Misha's sensible talk to get Jeff to let go of his anger.

None of that would have happened, all the deaths and the misery, if only Ackles had listened to his advice. He had told him not to come, but the fool had persevered, and now they were all paying the price of the intrusion of the Starfleet men and women. Serenity was but a word since the monster had awakened, their house had been attacked just like the ship, and Jared seemed to have been the target of last night's attempt to come in.

Thank the gods of science for making the Krell so ingenious that they had come up with this wonderful alloy to protect Jared. Once again, Jeff's certainty that they were safe inside the house and nowhere else was being proven by facts. No wonder he was getting antsy every time Jared wandered too far.

Misha too had left for the ship, saying the Arcadia crew needed his help to finish the repairs quicker and escape as soon as possible. Jeff was only too happy to help in that endeavor. And it meant he was alone for a while, free to visit the stasis room and check on his most prized possession.

Ensign Buckmaster had been right to say he wasn't getting any younger, but this would never be a problem, for Jeff had found the perfect solution : new bodies, designed in the same way he had built Misha, with the difference that they were all waiting for a soul to animate them. He had five of them for himself and three for Jared, ready to be activated. Misha, the only other person to know about them, had been taught the delicate and precise surgery necessary to connect their brains to the bodies and he would proceed when the time came to give a new lease on life to either one of the humans he cared for.

Jeff had respected their original appearances when he had created these bodies – but he had taken a few liberties on the second versions, retouching the master print after scanning : a wrinkle or three out of his own face, and an inch or two from Jared's cock, because surely the kid didn't need such a tool when he had no one to play with it on Jardina 4.

But nothing said that they couldn't change what they look like with future bodies. In particular, he could make Jared shorter than him, to let him show the respect Jeff was due as his father. Changing his own face had been one of Jeff's best fantasies ever since he had felt trapped on Earth, resorting to faking his death and traveling far enough to make sure no one would pursue him ever again. A new face meant he could go anywhere anytime with no one the wiser, and then come back home on Jardina 4 to his son.

They could live forever. Be strong enough to resist the monster's attacks, maybe even kill it once and for all with their combined forces.

Another way to prove to Jared their life didn't have to change, for it was perfect as it was and could only ever become more so if they stayed united.

"How do you feel, girl ?" Jensen asked. "Are you okay ?"

"Well enough to punch you if you call me girl again !" Dann answered, but she squeezed Jensen's hand back and kept it in hers – the one currently not getting regenerated – while he sat on the side of the biobed.

"So, how long had you been there ?"

Dann didn't try to pretend she didn't understand.

"I came at nightfall, and stayed hidden until the beast showed. I knew it would come for you sooner or later. It was my job to prevent it and protect you."

"And you did great. You dented the wall with your butt, but I'm still alive, so I guess I'll have to forget this misstep when I fill out my report."

"Stop complaining, I just gave character to that damn wall."

They looked at each other with a tremulous smile, just happy they were still alive to do so after facing the monster.

"Thanks for being the best guardian angel. You definitely saved my life out there."

"You know I didn't do much more than distract it. I was armed with our most powerful handgun and it was like mosquito bites to it. We have to leave before it gets worse, Jensen."

"I know. Ty's tying loose ends as fast as he can. If all goes according to plan, we'll be off Jardina 4 tomorrow at the latest. I need you to be up and running by that time, so listen to Gil and take advantage of his spa for the day."

"I don't know what this charlatan told you, you gullible man, but a bone regenerator really has nothing to do with a spa."

"Really ? And yet here you are, lying lazily in this hot cabin, tended to by skilled people. Looks good from where I stand."

Ensign Royster's voice interrupted him.

"Captain, permission to let Jared come on board ?"

"Granted, Ensign, but have him wait a minute or two. I'll send Dr. McKinney to welcome him."

Jensen turned to Gil who, of course, had heard his last words, watching him with a raised eyebrow.

"Jared needs a welcoming committee now ?"

"He does. I still have to talk for a bit with Dann, and there's a PADD on my desk that I want you to give him. Answer his questions if he has some, you know the drill."

If anything, Gil's eyebrow went higher still, but he didn't argue. No doubt his legendary curiosity was piqued.

"Very well. I'll get my Starfleet tour operator hat on and keep Jared entertained in your office until such time you deem it cool for you to show up. Don't be mad if he likes my company so much that he doesn't want to date you anymore after that."

A passing nurse gasped at his chief's words but looked at the captain with more amusement than reproach. Jensen couldn't help still feeling conscious of their age difference so he appreciated the display of normalcy, the banter with his best friends.

"Do you feel well enough to answer my questions ?" he asked Dann as soon as Gil had left.

"Of course. I don't think I have seen that much, but ask away."

He needed to know how Dann had analyzed the attack at dawn, see if his own conclusions made sense when compared to the ones his security officer had reached.

"Okay. Did anything feel different to you this time ?"

"Different than what ?"

"Anything. Any detail you might have overlooked in the heat of the moment, but now makes for a different scene when you think of it."

"Now that you say that… There was something strange about the monster, Jensen. Something… yes, different. Sure, it sent me flying with a flick of its hand. But it hardly damaged the corridor when it walked the few inches from the place it appeared to your door. The other day around the galley, remember, it looked like a small house had gone through the whole section. The ceiling was blown off, but not this time. That's what you saw, right ?"

"What do you infer from this ?"

"I don't know. Could it be that it's losing power ? Which would be directly linked to its height and breadth ? Or is it just me mistaking my wish for a fact ?"

"I'm afraid this is a only a nice wish."

"You have another theory, don't you ? And you won't tell me right now."

"You've always been so smart," Jensen answered with a smirk. "Now get better, sleep it off. I'll need you bright-eyed and bushy-striped tomorrow morning."

"Stop mocking my stripes, you horrible person," Danneel responded through a laugh she couldn't quite suppress "That doesn't even make sense."

"Yes, it does, but you have to be captain to get it."

With a last squeeze of her hand, Jensen let go and stood up to leave and rejoin Jared and Gil.

Danneel's voice stopped him.

"Jensen, is Jared coming with us ?"

"I hope so."

Jensen didn't need to turn to feel the full force of her own smirk. He might have unconsciously hurried to get out of medbay.

Kara welcomed him with her usual smiling fondness when he materialized on the transporter platform, but then she turned and Jared found Dr. McKinney waiting behind her.

"Doctor ? Did you need me ?"

"Not exactly. I have a message for you, and I thought I'd use the opportunity to chat."

"Chat ?" Jared repeated, perplexed.

"Chat," McKinney confirmed.

The doctor showed him the corridor and Jared followed him on the path to the bridge.

"So, what did you want to chat about ?"

"Nothing in particular, that's why we call it idle chat. Spur of the moment and all that jazz. How you're adapting, maybe ? You seem to feel at ease among us, which I find remarkable since your personal experience includes one human and a robot for the whole of your conscious life. Your adaptation skills are truly astounding."

"Really ?"

"Absolutely. Everyone around here talks about you with warmth and caring, which tells me that's also what you showed to most of the people you met. And of course, there's Jensen."

"What about him ?" Jared enquired, beginning to understand the doctor might be going for gossip rather than psych evaluation.

Which didn't preclude the need to hear whatever the physician had to say about Jensen.

"Are you aware that our Jensen is a very reserved man ?"

"I know. He doesn't want to swim naked."

"Exac… what ?"

"Never mind, it was one of our first conversations. I began to measure that day how different we are, and how fascinating he is. Reserved works too."

"Fascinating, you say ?"

"Doctor, can you tell me what's this all about ? I came to see Jensen. I kind of _need_ to see him."

"He knows you're here. I was with him when Kara asked for his authorization to beam you on board, and I _offered_ to deliver a message while he wrapped things up in medbay."

"Why was he in medbay ?"

The doctor snorted.

"As I said, reserved. Rest assured, despite his silence on the topic, our captain is not injured. He was visiting Dann Harris, who suffered a few broken bones in the last attack."

"Is she alright ? And Jensen ?"

"He is, and she will be soon. But that _thing_ seems to think it's at home on the Arcadia, which makes everyone cranky, and first of all our chief security officer. I doubt she'll stay in medbay the prescribed time, not as long as the beast is alive and it stalks the captain."

Jared blanched.

"It came for Jensen ?"

"It did, but I'm told it never came close enough to even ruffle his spiky hair."

"Good grief !" Jared swallowed painfully. "We were attacked last night, too."

The doctor immediately switched back to his professional side.

"Are you okay ?" he asked. "Do any of you at the house require a medical exam or care ?"

"No, we're okay. Shocked, and pissed at the damages, but that's it."

"Would you tell me if you were hurt ?" the doctor asked, hands on his hips, the very image of wariness.

"Probably," Jared answered with a smile that grew when he saw the other man shake his head and choose to withdraw from the game.

"You and the captain are heavenly matched. Now come, Jensen has something on his desk he wanted me to show you."

After a quick hello to the personnel working the shift on the bridge, they entered the captain's office. Jared remarked immediately the covers abandoned on the couch that were proof Jensen had slept in his office the night before, at least after the attack.

The doctor powered the PADD on and showed it to Jared. The Starfleet logo sat on top of the document and Jared's heart did a double take at what it seemed to imply.

"Do you know what this is ?"

"Ah, yes. It's the formal demand for Earth citizenship. I see Jensen indicated his own address in San Francisco since you don't have one. If you agree with this, you just have to sign. This is a legal document and it will put in motion the bureaucratic process. Jensen said to give it to you ; you can take the time to decide."

"I can sign right now, I don't need to think about it. I've known I wanted to leave with you and go to Earth since the day of your arrival."

"It may be so, but wanting and doing are two different things. Many people entertain a dream, for years sometimes, to make their life tolerable, but faced with the opportunity to make it real, not so many of them will act on it."

"I _am_ ready."

"Now I get why Jensen wanted me to do this."

"Why ?"

"Because you two are too involved, compromised already. You see, an interview must be set simultaneously to the signing of this document, to ensure that the person applying realizes what it means to become a citizen of Earth."

"And you think Jensen couldn't do it."

"He wants you to come with him, and you're not processing much of anything else than your desire to follow him."

"That's not fair. I want to leave Jardina 4 just as much as I want to discover Earth and live there. I can't stand the solitude anymore, and the knowledge that I have no choice, that I'm basically trapped. And yes, I want to be with Jensen. Is that a crime ? We match and I feel so good…"

Jared stopped abruptly with the realization that the doctor was playing devil's advocate to get him to talk.

"You're good !" he said, full of admiration.

"Thank you kindly."

"So, did I pass ? Will I get your recommendation ?"

"You will. You do. But remember that you still have to take at least 24 hours to think about it."

"What if you leave in less than 24 hours ? What if the beast force us to change our plans ?"

"Now who's playing with the other ? As you well know, we won't leave you behind. Starfleet wouldn't allow it, and Jensen even less."

"You sure ?"

"Of course I am. Starfleet breeds honorable captains. Jensen will come to get you at the peril of his own life, because that's what captains do."

The doctor's words painted a new picture of Jensen, one he had gotten a glimpse of whenever his father pissed the man, but that Jensen had never used with Jared.

"You make me realize I know so little about the life you take for granted. About Jensen himself. Going with him through a two-hour holoscene is not like spending days and years working next to someone."

"You're not wrong, but knowing those kind of details about someone doesn't mean you get them. Don't worry about this. Knowledge will come in good time, but you can't force a connection between two human beings. Jensen and you have that connection, and then some."

It was nice to know they had supporters among Jensen's friends.

"Here," Gil said, "take a look at this. I'm pretty sure you'll find it very educational."

Intrigued, Jared took the frame offered by the doctor. Shiny and smooth, it presented a picture of Jensen receiving a diploma.

"What it this ?"

"Jensen's life achievements so far. Considering how close the two of you have become, I think it's time for you to know a little more about our fearless leader. Especially the parts he tends to forget when he talks about himself. You click here to adjust the slideshow's speed."

Gil clicked the next button, the image changing to another time and place, another award, and then another one. Between each congratulation party, the corresponding diploma was displayed full size and Jared's eyes went wide with the realization that Jensen was not some ignorant hick, as his father put it, but a scientist of the same caliber. Jared had never asked about his IQ, he didn't want him to feel shame in front of his father who certainly wouldn't miss this opportunity to crush him under the weight of his self-importance. But he shouldn't have worried. Neither his dad nor himself had really paid attention when they had first met Jensen, the captain praising the eminent professor Morgan for being the highlight of his studies.

The slideshow ran multiple times, the doctor leaving without Jared noticing, and Jensen finally joining him to ask what he was doing.

"Looking at your slideshow, Dr. McKinney put it on for me while I was waiting. He said you'd never show me otherwise."

"So now you know my deepest secrets."

"To be honest, I'm quite impressed."

"It looks more important that it really is, put together like that."

"I don't think the person who did it agrees with you."

"It's my big brother's gift, he's hardly without bias."

"Is he in Starfleet too ?"

"Yeah. Research is his thing. He's the egghead of the family."

"Well, considering all the diplomas I just saw pass before my eyes, I'd say it runs rampant in the family."

Jensen smiled but didn't comment.

"Why didn't you tell my father about those when he said you were no scientist and couldn't understand his research ?"

"Because in my experience, it's always better to get people to underestimate you. Especially when you don't trust them."

Jared felt more awkward than ever after this admission. He couldn't blame Jensen. He didn't understand his father's attitude most of the time since the Arcadia had landed, but he knew the man could be loving and warm, that he had protected and cared for him all his life. He wanted to find a way to reconcile Jensen with him, make sure that his opinion of his father wouldn't spill over onto him. If he was going to leave with Jensen alone, he preferred it to be with the benediction of his father.

The shooting award showed up once again and Jared decided to talk about something else.

"I've always wanted to learn how to shoot. Would you teach me when we get to Earth ?"

Jared was happy that Jensen didn't contradict him this time. Instead, he shut the slideshow off and approached Jared.

"I can do better. The holodeck also serves as firing range. Come, let's go see if you've got any talent."

"It's on, Captain !"

Jensen provided a nice, low-energy background for their too-short time in the holodeck, showing another pretty place in Texas where he had learned to shoot with his brothers. He explained to Jared how to shoot with a phaser, the different settings and the obligatory caution to be observed when shooting a device able to maim or kill. It became very quickly evident that Jared had experience at aiming, even though he had never fired any sort of weapon. But using some of the Krell's machines had implied the practice of concentration and accurate targeting.

As long as he remained focused on the target, Jared reached dead center at least three times out of five. As soon as he began to interrogate Jensen, his score went down dramatically.

"Doctor McKinney told me you were attacked last night."

"We were."

"But you didn't call me. Next time – if there is one – you call me right away."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you out of it, but things went a bit crazy for a while, and I knew you'd be coming here sooner or later."

Jared accepted his words for the excuse they were, and thought it was time to come clean too. Even if he was still in shock about it all.

"We were also attacked during the night. From what I gather, it happened before you were targeted."

Jared didn't stop shooting. The focus needed helped him keep the fear at bay.

"Attacked ?" Jensen exclaimed, turning to look at Jared. "At your house ?"

"While we were all sleeping, deeply, and then there was this great commotion. I was awake in a heartbeat, there were more terrible punching sounds coming from my window. The wall was vibrating with the force of the hits, but luckily it didn't break. Next thing I knew, the hits against the house stopped but there was so much noise outside it reminded me of one of those terrible storms we get once a year. It went on for a while. And then nothing."

More shots, more targets disintegrating or burning up as Jared hit them.

"What happened here exactly ?" he continued before Jensen had time to question him further. "And don't tell me nothing, because I know Dann is in medbay and you would have told me already if you weren't involved or in danger."

"I wouldn't say it was nothing, because I'm equally pissed and relieved about what happened to Dann, but as a matter of fact, the only real damage is the front door to my quarters. It hardly felt the same as usual. Like that beast had an off day. Not like the bloodthirsty killer tank we've dealt with before."

"You think it's… what, mellowing ?"

"No, I wouldn't go that far. But what if there was more than one beast out there ? Did you ever have reason to suspect there might have been two monsters ?"

Jared stopped at last and turned to his lover.

"Jensen, what I heard outside of my bedroom, it was the noises of a battle. I swear there was a second monster, and that they were fighting for dominance. I can't prove it, I didn't see them, but please believe me. There were two of them."

Jensen nodded.

"I believe you."

Jared put the phaser down on the table and sought Jensen's arms for comfort.

"How can we beat two of them ?" he asked. "We already can't fight one off. Two will be our death."

"Don't say that. We won't let them win."

"How can you be so sure ? They're targeting both of us now."

"I know, Jared, I know."

Jensen pushed Jared a little bit away from himself to be able to look him in the eyes.

"Jared, that's it. The moment when I ask if you've come to a decision. We're leaving tomorrow. I need a definitive answer."

Jared felt his eyes dampen, his heart squeezed by conflicting emotions. He was sure he wanted to leave, and yet it meant leaving his previous life behind, probably forever, no take back. More than anything, it meant leaving his father behind, dealing alone with the monster. He planned to give him the long-range communicator Jensen had gifted him with, but he might never hear from him again anyway. If his dad was too pissed at him, too set in his ways to amend them for the sake of their relationship…

"I'm coming with you," he answered, and this came from the heart, as definitive as could be.

More than any interview to assert his will and reasons to become a citizen of Earth, giving his word to Jensen sealed the deal. Come hell or high water, monster or pissed father, he'd leave tomorrow.

There was no one to greet him so Adam let himself inside the house. He had waited for Jared and Misha to be on board the Arcadia to come here, so the coast was clear on that front. The other officers on roster were still deep into the Krell's library, taking advantage of the last moments to gather as much information as possible. He didn't know how the chief engineer had managed to persuade the captain to let him go when they were supposed to be finishing up the repairs. Olsson had taken to cataloging and 3D copying all the machines he could to get a chance to study them someday after they had left Jardina 4. As for Dr. McKinney, Adam had no clue what he was doing here.

The important part was that no one knew of his presence. No one would disturb his talk with the professor.

He had rehearsed his speech to make sure to appeal to Morgan's paternal pride as well as his need as a scientist to learn always more. He would also have to show how much admiration Jared inspired in him and find the word to present the Academy as the ultimate school to educate and mold savant minds.

He hoped to gain more than Morgan's approval with this endeavor. His captain's trust might also be in the balance. It justified pushing himself to his limits, ignoring his unease at the idea of making small talk and trying to influence someone else's life. He steeled himself against doubts and confusion, not knowing that well anymore what he was willing to achieve. But faint heart never won powerful ship. It had to be done, whatever it was.

He found the professor working in the third lab he tried. The man welcomed him graciously enough, but Adam's confusion didn't abate.

There was something about Jeff Morgan that really didn't sit well with him.

"Professor Morgan, can I have a minute of your time, please ? I need to talk to you about Jared."


	15. Chapter 15

Gil was glad Jensen had ordered to keep things as usual so as not to alert the professor about their imminent departure, and it was obvious Ty felt the same way. They had used the opportunity for the last time to collect as much material as possible inside the Krell's labs and library, and it had been quite exhilarating to imagine the upcoming hours of research and practical applications, but now he just felt tired and ready to call it a day. Ty had spent too little time here in the previous days to wish to leave so "early" but Gil was done.

To be honest, he was done with the whole planet and fervently hoped they would be well on their way to Earth by this time tomorrow. The only things that kept this mission from being a total failure were the sheer amount of technology and work they'd be bringing back with them, and Jared. Jared who made Jensen so damn happy it was almost painful to imagine all the ways they could go wrong.

Gil rubbed his jaw and chin with his hand, still surprised to find them bare after so many years of maintaining a short beard. Dann had collected on their old bet that Jensen would fall in love before he was past his thirtieth year, repaying him for keeping her in medbay for a whole day. Damn Jared for making the captain fall head over heels in love such a short time before the deadline !

Gil had no doubt the youngster was just as in love as his friend, but he had seen too many couples splitting for too many reasons to be very optimistic about their chances. Jensen said there were many roads leading to happiness, whatever that meant, and that he was ready to follow any…

Gil squinted at the shimmery form coming his way from the professor's office at the beginning of the corridor. It didn't seem especially threatening but on this planet, he had begun to look at rocks as if they could be dangerous and morph into monsters. Any non-human being could potentially become an enemy that would try to kill you, and this thing was no exception.

It flew leisurely in his direction, changing shape and consistency from one second to the next, gaining volume too, or maybe it was just an impression due to the growing proximity and the constant reshaping. Filaments of white and grey shades enveloped Gil as they passed him, but he didn't have time to really be more afraid than before as they left him and went on their way, down the hall, floating right to the shuttle. The doors of the vehicle closed behind them and the shuttle moved off.

Gil's hand went from his phaser to the communicator, bringing it from his belt to his mouth.

"Dr. McKinney to Captain Ackles. Jensen, come in, there's a new development," he urged, relieved when he finally heard Jensen's voice in return.

Right at the same time, he heard Misha yell for Jared to come at once to the front of the house, loud enough that Gil began to run towards him without thinking.

Misha parked the vehicle and stepped out. He would wash the inside before he stored it in the garage, but they had too much to do right now and it could wait. This was something the professor could do himself if need be.

When Jared had told him about his plans, and begged him to come along, Misha had agreed to keep quiet in front of the professor but felt a great deal of confusion. As Jared said, the professor would be able to build another robot to help him, but Misha wasn't sure he had the right to leave his creator. He talked with Jared who, when all was said and done, was in the same situation, and then with Captain Ackles, but both insisted that it had to be his choice.

With this in mind, he had only decided today that his primary loyalty was to Jared, per order from the professor himself. Which meant he had to go with him to make sure he wasn't alone in the world. The fact that he was curious about Earth and the rest of the universe came only second to his need to be there for Jared.

Misha's thoughts were deflected by the terrible smell of spilled blood a few feet away. He let his nose lead him to the side of the house and was shocked to find the remnants of what had once been a whole body. The blue shirt of a scientific crewmember of the Arcadia was still partly visible despite the crimson dye now masking most of it.

"Jared," he yelled, knowing the young man had arrived long before him back at the house, thanks to the transporter. "Come outside, front of the house, quick !"

Misha kneeled next to the corpse. It had been a long time since he had last seen a dead body but he remembered immediately that feeling of dread and waste. He was so young when the first scientists had died that he hadn't really understood what was happening at the time, but then Addy's death had been the worst blow of his life and it was all coming back to him now. The fear and the heartache, the feeling of loneliness that he had dealt with by clinging to Jared. That was also the day he had realized he was capable of tearing up.

"Commander Harrington," he said, deeply saddened to recognize the Arcadia's first officer out of what was left of him.

The man sported a frightening rictus, half of his face gone. His body was contorted to an odd angle that would have been impossible back when he was alive.

Misha heard Jared's rapid footsteps coming closer and a gasp upon discovering the reason of Misha's shout.

"Is that… ?"

"Commander Harrington," Misha confirmed. "Would you call Captain Ackles and tell him what I found ?"

"No need," the voice of Dr. McKinney said. "I'm with him already."

Misha turned to the physician whose face had blanched.

"My condolences, Doctor. Commander Harrington appears to be the latest victim of the monster."

"Jensen," the doctor answered directly to his communicator, eyes riveted on the gruesome body, "you have to come to the house. Now, and bring at least two security guys and two from medbay. Harrington is dead, and I've seen a new entity floating around."

It took less than five minutes for the captain and his men to arrive. Chief Olsson had joined them from inside the lab, alerted by the doctor, and decided to document the murder scene, photographing everything. Dr. McKinney had then used the time collecting the remains of the poor officer. He was almost done when the men and woman of the Arcadia materialized a few feet away. The crewmen didn't dare approach further than the captain, all watching the commander with the same dread that had taken Misha. Jared had been waiting in the background, still shocked, but Captain Ackles' arrival pushed him to come closer and seek his lover's hand in comfort.

"Do you know why Harrington was here ?" was the first thing the captain asked, immediately followed by "Especially out here instead of inside ?"

Misha understood why the captain was asking this. Whenever someone from the ship came or left the house, they didn't need to go outside since the transporter could reach or deposit them just as easily inside.

"I don't," Misha said, while Jared shook his head

"I didn't even know he was here," Olsson added, turning to McKinney for confirmation.

"We haven't seen him during the time we spent studying."

Which was odd in itself since the commander was so very obsessed with Krell's knowledge.

"I saw something," the doctor suddenly remembered.

"You said there was a new entity floating around ?" the captain reminded him.

"I have no idea what that was. It seemed ethereal, like water, or a gas maybe, something without a constant form, fluid but capable of voluntary movements."

"Do you think this gas attacked Adam rather than the monster ? That it was toxic and what… burned him ?"

"I don't know, Jensen. I don't think so. It came very close to me, almost like a blanket trying to envelop me, and I wasn't hurt. At first glance, what happened to Harrington seems consistent with the previous deaths, body broken and lacerated. The autopsy will tell us more. But I don't believe in coincidence, and neither do you if I remember correctly."

"You're right, I don't. Did you see where it was going ? Any idea where we can see this entity too ?"

"It boarded the shuttle seconds before I called you. It went right to the generators."

With an alarmed glance, the captain ordered the doctor and nurses to go back to the ship with the remains of Harrington.

"Fergus and Buckmaster, you're with me," he continued. "We're going down to the engine room."

"Captain," Chief Olsson intervened, "let me come with you. I may be able to track that thing with my tricorder."

"Okay, but you stay behind. We need you too much on board."

The captain turned to Jared to offer him a small phaser he had retrieved from his ankle, hidden under his uniform.

"This is not a toy, be careful, use it only to defend yourself. And you too stay behind, understood ?"

"Understood."

Misha followed the Earthlings and Jared, ready to protect the humans if need be. As they passed in front of lab 3, the door opened and the professor came out, looking at them with surprise.

"What's this ? Captain, I've been very lenient with the way your men have invaded my house and disturbed my peace, but I won't let you go around, pointing phasers. This has to stop."

"Dad…" Jared began.

"What are _you_ doing with one of these weapons ? I guess this is your doing, Captain ? Is it not enough that you put my son's life in danger and brought the monster back to our house ? Jared, give him the phaser back immediately."

"Dad ! Let me talk. Dr. McKinney saw something floating to the shuttle and going for the engine room. Something different. We have to go see what it is and what it's doing down there. You can stay here or join us, but we're going, now."

Without waiting for his answer, Jared trotted along the corridor to catch up with the captain who hadn't even slowed down or acknowledged Jeff Morgan.

The professor finally decided to join and took a place in the group right next to Misha.

"I still don't understand the need for phasers."

What Misha didn't understand was his creator's ongoing blindness. The man was too intelligent not to see the danger they were in, and yet he wanted nothing more than make sure their lives stayed the same, buried in his research and negating everything else around him. But this was not the way to keep Jared safe and Misha couldn't abide this attitude anymore.

"Shut up, Professor," he said, and for once the professor did shut up, too startled to answer back.

The shuttle took them to the engine room, opening on the same colorful display as ever. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary – nothing more than the wonderful Krell technology, anyway. Silent and dark, the spacious room invited serenity and meditation as always.

Something glided between the energy plates, white and shiny in the somber environment. All eyes turned to watch it.

"Captain ?" Fergus asked, phaser at the ready.

"Hold fire !" the captain answered.

They kept watching as the creature floated around the different parts of the machine, long tendrils of clear light playing with them, diving and coming up again and again, like those big cetacean mammals he had seen playing in the oceans of Earth on vids Jared loved to watch. Misha realized that the same smile he could see on the others' faces matched the one he was sporting at the fun display.

The entity totally ignored the (mostly) human company, circling and poking at the plates, before it dismissed them in favor of a rounded structure void it its middle. The filaments began to turn blue at its contact, more shiny and transparent at the same time, and then the entity raised itself, filaments now straight and longer than ever, and plunged directly into the empty center of the machine. Energy crackled on its way, disseminating the filaments into millions of particles that were absorbed by the machine.

"What just happened ?" Morgan asked after a long moment had passed and no one had dared to move or talk.

"I think Adam Harrington is now one with the Krell's machines," Captain Ackles answered. "And there's no better cenotaph for a man who all his life put science before everything. May he rest in peace."

The professor had agreed to share with them the security vids showing the outside of the house around the time of Harrington's death. Jensen had taken them to Dann, still confined to her medbay bed by his order and not happy about it, to watch them together. There were three things to learn thanks to the file.

One, the monster had indeed killed the Arcadia's first officer, and the violence of the murder was simply unbearable.

Two, the filamentary being definitely emanated from Harrington, a more or less solid image of his soul probably, influenced by and attracted to the Krell's machines. This gave Jensen an idea about what had become of the Krell themselves at the time they disappeared. Dann hypothesized that the closeness of the generators in Harrington's case might explain why the same thing hadn't happened with the other crewmembers killed by the monster. Jensen operated under the suspicion that Harrington had been closer to the Krell in other ways than the physical proximity and this time told Dann about it.

Three, Harrington was in the process of dictating a message to his communicator when the beast swooped down on him.

The communicator had been crushed in the attack, but one of the techs was able to retrieve the memory anyway so that they could hear Harrington's last words.

"My conversation with the professor didn't go well at all," the man said in a strangely feverish voice. "I don't understand his stubbornness or why he's so selfishly protective of his son, but he refused to hear my reasons for letting him go. He doesn’t care about what the Academy could teach to Jared, or about the future of humanity. So this is a bust. But I did make an interesting discovery. I returned to the lab and played once more with that machine that allows me to understand the Krell's language and mindset. As I said already, there was something bothering me before, whenever they talked about their quest for a way to become pure, gentle spirits. And this time I got it. The Krell had forgotten the id. That's where they went terribly wrong, the…"

Terrible cries of deathly pain ended the recording.

Jensen couldn't say he hadn't seen such an outcome passing more than once in the many possible futures he had envisioned. Harrington had a way of pissing people off that, as his captain, had already given him grey hair trying to get them out of diplomatic nightmares during quite a few missions. The only reason why Harrington hadn't been demoted was that Jensen had always covered for him.

But lately, to be honest, while his duty and honor as a captain pushed him to find the best scenarios for all the men and women serving under him, as a man in love, Jensen's heart had been mostly preoccupied by the ones in which Jared made it alive out of Jardina 4. With or without his father.

One of the constants required to keep him alive was to get him to leave the next day at the latest. After that, chances got too high that the monster took over and killed them all over the next few months by disabling the ship to trap the crew on Jardina 4. Jensen didn't know exactly how the beast got to know where the crucial engines were located, the ones without which fighting the planet's gravity and flying became impossible. The only possible answer led to Professor Morgan's impromptu visit to the Arcadia. Again.

Everything pointed to Jeffrey Dean Morgan. As handsome as he was aggravating, as troubled as he was untamed. Jensen knew that as soon as the professor learned about his son's plans to leave the nest, they would be all in terrible danger. Not only Harrington for suggesting Jared should do it. Not only Jensen for being Jared's lover. The whole crew, for potentially being able to divert Jared's love and attention from his father.

That's why Jensen had sent Jared back home earlier with the task to pack and use the transporter to get on board everything he wanted to take with him. Same orders for Misha, as quietly as possible, so as not to alert the professor.

He himself had so many things to prepare, so many people to brief, reassure or encourage before they felt they were reasonably fit to take off and resist any last-ditch assault from the monster. Harrington's death had badly frightened his crew and made everything all the more complicated, his duties passed around to competent people that the captain had personally talked to, hoping to give them a boost of confidence, but Jensen keenly felt the loss of his first officer and he had no one but himself to rely on. Until Jared would come onboard so that Jensen could lean on him in more ways than one.

Jared was aware of the plan and that Jensen would come to see him late at night, probably even very late. Yet he was still up when Jensen finally materialized directly in his bedroom.

Jared let go of his PADD and stood up. Jensen could only hope they would keep kissing like that for many years whenever they would see each other again after a few hours apart.

Soon they were naked and lying on the bed, making love with fervor, kissing again and again, forgetting everything, even the danger possibly lurking around. It was good to a point Jensen had no words for, the feeling of Jared all around himself, his abandon and willingness to offer the world to Jensen, himself included, all of it wrapped in the most beautiful body Jensen had ever dreamed of. So free in his desire and showing himself off, as if being sheltered from the petty jealousy of other people had allowed him to keep a good image of his physical self and bypass most of the usual human neuroses about perceived beauty, or the lack thereof.

"What do you see when you look at me like that ?" Jared asked with a smile, looking down at Jensen lying spent on the bed.

"Our future, and it looks bright."

"Does it now ?"

Jared grinned and leaned down to kiss Jensen.

"How do you know it will be good ? That you won't get tired of me and marry a lovely three-eyed alien from Melunkda ?"

Jensen's hesitation between banter and confession lasted only the time between one heartbeat and the next.

"Because I too used one of the Krell's machines."

Jared's stupefaction was complete.

"You did ? But why ?! It was a stupid risk."

"For the record, Gil agrees with you, and he already ascertained I was well. But as the captain, I had to do it."

"No ! As the captain, you have to remain alive to lead us all to safety. I didn't know him that well, but I doubt Harrington would have been able to replace you."

Jensen had no doubt about this one ; at this point, all of Harrington's possible futures he had glimpsed led to failure and rancor.

"He wouldn't have, whatever he believed he could do. Being a good scientist doesn't make you a good leader, despite his hope to the contrary."

"And now that he's not here anymore, I don't even know who could pretend to command a small town like the Arcadia and manage to protect her from danger. So if you love me and your ship, you have to be more cautious."

"I do love my ship," Jensen retorted with a smirk.

Jared hit him in the arm.

"Say it ! Say it or I will… I don't know what, but I will !"

Jensen made a show of rubbing his arm.

"We haven't even said I love you and this is already an abusive relationship. Maybe if you'd kiss me, I'd be more amenable to break the sweet words."

They kissed for a long while and Jensen thought he had escaped more invasive questions about his experience in the lab, but he learned in that minute not to finesse with Jared.

"I feel almost bad for being so happy when men have died and we're still in danger," Jared sighed. "So Gil really gave you a clean bill of health ? You're not making it up ?"

"I'm not."

"And ?"

"And what ?"

"There's something you're not telling me. I can feel it."

Jensen sighed in his turn.

"That's because I'm still not sure how this works. Gil said it has to do with synapses and neural pathways, you'll have to ask him for further details. What I can tell you is that, along with a certain capacity to share feelings, my previous ability to know what to do in critical situations has been much enhanced by this machine. It's like I needed danger, or some form of stress, in order to get this part of my brain in gear before ; but now it works all the time and in every situation, recalculating outcomes as life goes by and new events occur."

"Is it conscious on your part ?"

"No, it's all in the background, more and more so as days pass. I can decide to put it at the forefront and analyze every detail, like parts of my decision that sleeping with you was not taking advantage of you, but otherwise I'm only aware of the results. It's not disturbing my other brain functions, if that's what you're wondering."

"Do you think something like that happened to the scientists when they began to try every other machine twenty years ago ?"

"I'm pretty sure it did. Your parents, the other scientists, even the pilot. And you too."

"Me ? But I have no particular talent."

Jensen laughed out loud.

"You're so full of it ! You said yourself you can feel it when I don't come entirely clean. You're more intelligent than your father could ever wish to be even with his double-enhanced IQ, which means that you were more intelligent than him to begin with. You've mastered his own field at the age of 18, but also the one of your mother, and your formal knowledge is far from limited to physics and biology. As you said yourself, growing up with those incredible toys in the lab probably allowed you to adapt to them with time, instead of getting hit by them like a shuttle in the face the way your father did."

"My father ?"

"You already know what I'm going to say, don't you ? You've suspected for a while, too, but you refuse to accept it."

"Don't say it !" Jared stopped him with a hand on his mouth. "Not yet. Tomorrow."

Jensen scrutinized him.

"Okay, tomorrow."

Jared hid his face in Jensen's neck, keeping his breath light and steady. It wasn't long before Jensen's eyes closed against his will and sleep took him.


	16. Chapter 16

Jensen woke up without prompting and realized more than four hours had passed. Daylight was flooding the bedroom and Jared was still sleeping next to him, gloriously naked and beautiful.

He still had some things to attend to before the departure. Tomorrow, he would indulge and rest next to Jared as long as possible, make love to him for hours to celebrate the fact that they were alive and together, but today he needed to be strong, to get up and make sure everything and everyone was ready to leave.

He showered, put his clothes back on, brushed his teeth and checked his hair, all the while hesitating about waking Jared up or not. Jared seemed to answer his silent question when he turned over, showing his back and gorgeous ass to Jensen who decided to let him sleep a little longer.

He needed coffee, and he was pretty sure he would find some in the kitchen if Misha was aware he was still in the house. But he hadn't taken three steps before he found himself face to face with Jeff Morgan.

"Professor !" he exclaimed, desperately trying to find a reason to explain his presence. "I came to see Jared, but he's still asleep."

"Yes, it's a bit early for my son. He tends to sleep like a log in the morning. Come with me, I was going to prepare breakfast and I'd like to share with you."

Morgan seemed to be in an unusually good mood and as much as Jensen preferred to go back to Jared, he couldn't risk alerting the professor right now. So he followed him and soon accepted the big cup of coffee that Misha was indeed preparing for him.

They enjoyed breakfast and small talk together, until the moment the professor sent Misha away.

"Misha, please go and check your experiments. I took a cursory look yesterday, and it seemed to me you haven't been as methodical as usual."

"Of course, Professor. I will do so right away."

It felt to Jensen like a bad excuse to get them alone and he wondered if now was the time when Morgan confronted him. He was totally unprepared to see the older man leaning down to kiss him. So surprised that he didn't have time to push him away before he straightened up a bit and smiled.

"I've wanted to do that for a long while."

"Professor ? It was my understanding that you and Misha… had something ?"

He didn't quite know what to call their relationship.

"I see my son told you."

"He and I have gotten quite close. I think he likes to confide in me whenever he's struggling with something."

"He's still so young, I guess he can't understand yet the needs men like us can't quite refrain from. The physical discharge as well as the need for dominance."

"Jared is young, indeed, but he's very intelligent and he loves you. I'm sure he just needs you to be honest with him."

"You may be right. I'll talk to him later, but right now, I'd like to…"

Morgan leaned down and tried to kiss Jensen again, who turned his head.

"I'm sorry, Professor. You're a very handsome man, and a few years ago I would have jumped in bed with you, but now I can't."

"Why ? Is it because of Jared too ? Surely he would understand."

"Morning, you two," Jared interrupted him, entering the kitchen with a yawn. "What am I supposed to understand ?"

"That we'll be leaving as soon as possible," Jensen pretexted.

Jared only had one second of hesitation, and then played along.

"I don't want you to. Living here is gonna be so boring again without the Arcadia."

"Jared," his father told him off, "you know those people are in danger as long as they stay. You should wish them a safe return to Earth instead of focusing on your own feelings."

"You know I don't wish them ill, but be honest : life is boring here."

Morgan shook his head fondly, a sentiment he never showed for anyone but his son.

"Soon you'll have forgotten about it, and your research will become once more the most important part of your life. Mark my words."

"If you say so," Jared answered, the very image of the taciturn teenager ready to pout.

They watched him eat breakfast without exchanging more than a few words. Jensen waited until Jared was nearly finished before he stood up and announced he had to go.

"I almost forgot !" he stopped after a few steps toward the living room. "Jared, I brought the file we talked about. Do you want to check if it's compatible ?"

"Yes ! Come on."

Jared preceded him to his bedroom and Jensen admired his bare back, sad to think the young man wouldn't be able to live as freely on Earth, especially if he enrolled in Starfleet. No more shorts but the famous uniform – that he would fill beautifully, no doubts about that, but would cover him in a way Jensen couldn't help but regret. He would have to take Jared to the beach often in the first days, let him know all the great places he had found over the years so that Jared could go by himself once Jensen was back in space.

Jared closed the door behind them and took him in his arms.

"Good morning," he said, smiling with happiness. "I missed my morning kiss, you should have awakened me."

Making up for the lost opportunity, Jared took his mouth and Jensen indulged him for some time, probably longer than he should have.

"Finish your preparations," Jensen said between kisses, "we're going as soon as possible."

"I am ready. I woke up when you left the room and as I didn't know when you'd want to go, I got myself ready to leave at a moment's notice."

"Good. I'm not sure your father believed my explanation when he found me right outside your bedroom, and kissing me might have been his way to test me."

"He kissed you ?! He dared…"

Jared's outrage was cut short by his father's entrance into his room.

"Let go of my son !" Morgan ordered.

There was something terribly wrong, Jeff could sense it. Something about the captain and Jared's interactions. A familiarity and closeness he could remember, something he had shared only with Adrianne, born of their mutual love, feelings and lust combined.

"Computer," Jeff called, turning to the wall PADD as soon as Jared and the captain were gone, "show me Jared's bedroom the last time Captain Ackles entered it."

The surveillance video immediately showed the captain teleporting inside the bedroom at a very advanced hour and Jared getting up to take him in his arms and kiss him. Jeff's hands closed into fists with the need to hit something. The captain quickly took off Jared's shorts, leaving him naked for his own pleasure, touching and kissing his whole body, and it was obvious this was not the first time they were doing this.

Jeff forced himself to watch it all, the way Ackles sank into his son and made him beg for more, the way Jared gripped his lover tight and watched him with such lust and love that Jeff was ready to shout, anything to erase the connection these two clearly shared.

It felt like an offense to all that Jeff had lost the day Adrianne left. They had no right to have sex under his roof, in the place where Jeff had raised Jared to be better than that, better than this guy ready to spread his legs for the first captain landing on the planet.

He fast-forwarded as they talked and fell asleep in each other's arms, happy and in love. They had lied to him, both of them.

It was more than time to kick the intruder out and bring his son back to the fold.

Entering Jared's bedroom without warning, he found the two of them locked in a tight embrace and his anger multiplied immediately.

"Let go of my son !" Jeff ordered in a blind rage.

The two separated by reflex, as children being found doing something bad. Jared was the first to realize they had been caught.

"Dad," he said, hands raised to placate him. "I'm so sorry that you found out like that, but you have to know I'm in love with Jensen."

"This ?" Jeff railed, raising in his turn the hand that held the PADD showing them making love the previous night. "This is what you call love ? This man fucking you like a whore in the very room you were born into ?!"

Jared snagged the PADD and almost suffocated with fury at the view of the recording.

"The labs I could understand, but you filmed me in my bedroom ? You had me under surveillance ?! All these years ? All the time ?"

"After what happened with your mother…"

"No, that's not an excuse. I don't even know what you're alluding to : her murder, or the fact that she was leaving you ?"

"That's enough, Jared, I'm your father, you can't talk to me like that. I had to protect you. And I never knew you for a prude but I swear I never really watched the vids. It was there just in case, to make sure no one or nothing was threatening you. The computers had orders to warn me and show me images only if you were threatened by someone or something."

"Really ? So what's your reason for watching it now ? Get your jollies ?"

Jeff got closer, ready to hit Jared for the first time, and it was probably no surprise the murderous expression on his face had Ackles coming between them.

"That's enough, both of you. Don't say or do things you're going to regret later."

Jeff stopped and glanced at Jensen with disgust.

"I was a complete fool, wasn't I ? Trying to seduce you when obviously you're more interested in young and pliable."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Professor. I can assure that I didn't intend to fall in love, but Jared is much more to me than what you're describing. So much more ! We intend to live together. So I certainly don't want you two to part on bad terms."

"Love ?" Jeff bellowed. "How can you fall in love in a week ? My son's delusions are excused by his age, but you need to get a grip on reality. Jared belongs to me, he will never leave me."

"Professor, I swear to you that Jared will come back if that's what he wants. I promise to you, I'll personally see to it that Jared is offered a way to get back to Jardina 4, on my own ship if need be, in case he wishes to leave Earth after he gets a taste of it. But you have to let him go."

"That's where you're wrong. I don't have to."

"Dad, keeping me here is like imprisoning me, maybe even condemning me to a death sentence at the monster's hands. You can't want this for me."

He watched Jared with more than surprise ; he couldn't recognize his son anymore in this selfish being looking for excuses to abandon him.

"I cared for you, taught you everything I could, loved you with all my heart, the way only a father can love his child. Now you want to throw this all away for a man who doesn't deserve you, who doesn't understand who you are and what you work for. I can't allow this to happen, Jared, and you know it."

"First you're wrong about Jensen, he's as much of a scientist as we are and he knows how important our job is. And I'm legally an adult, Dad, you can't tell me what to do anymore. I have no future here, no friends, no life. That's why I need to go to Earth, and I want you to come with me, but if you don't, I will leave alone."

A loud and lengthy crack was heard at the end of the garden, beyond the lake, and they all turned to see what was happening. Nothing more, it seemed, than an uprooted tree falling into the lake. But then another one followed, and soon the water splashed everywhere, as if some invisible but heavy object had been thrown into the lake.

"The monster," Ackles realized first, "it's coming right here."

"In full daylight ?" Jared asked.

The captain turned to Jeff.

"I guess it's pissed enough to bend its own rules."

"What do you mean ?" Jeff said, astonished.

"Enough with the denial, Professor ! Face your demons once and for all. You're putting Jared in danger."

"I'm certainly doing nothing of the sort."

Misha came into the room running.

"Jared, Professor, the monster is back ! I checked every window and door, it won't come inside the house."

"At last, someone sane. You did good, Misha."

"Thank you, Professor, but I feel the need to tell you that I, too, am leaving with Jared on the Arcadia."

Jeff's world was crumbling and he didn't know how to stop the disintegration of everything he had patiently built in the last twenty years.

They all left Jared's bedroom for the living room to watch more easily the monster's progression through the lake to the bank, so close to the house, stamping on Jared's beautiful garden. Ackles had a hand on his phaser, even though he was certainly aware that this was as useless against the beast as a baseball bat, as pointless as his inability to resist for long the need to put himself between Jared and the fast-approaching herculean force.

The first hit on the wall had the whole house trembling on its foundations. The second was worse, the beast's anger feeding on its own frustration and powering its strikes. A few baubles and trinkets fell on the table or the floor, some of them breaking. The metal screeched with pain as the beast kept on hitting, and a gasp escaped all of them, save for Misha, when the window looked like it was giving under the beating, a huge fist now clearly embedded in the stretched material.

"Why is it breaking ?" Jeff yelled over the noise of the destruction. "It held the other time !"

"Because this isn't the same monster, and this one's much more powerful. Harrington never had time to become really dangerous and he didn't push the experience as far as you did, but he did use the same machine. Won't you see the truth at last, Professor ? You _are_ the monster."

"Are you crazy ?!"

"Dad, listen to him."

"No ! He's trying to destroy this family, I won't listen to his lies."

"You have to, Professor, or we'll all be dead in a moment. Call it off ! Now !"

"I tell you, I have no power over this thing."

The supposedly unbreakable walls kept on getting distorted, like punches passing through a plaster partition. There was no time to discuss Ackles' fairy tale and prove to him the sheer stupidity of his theory. They had to find another place to hide from the monster, and Ackles beat him to this, again.

"Captain to Arcadia. Four to beam, right now !"

The transporter tried to engage, but the dematerialization process failed to lock up on them. Three times in a row, the light and sound began and stopped almost immediately.

There was now a breach inside the wall, and it would soon be big enough for the monster to pass through.

"Come," Ackles yelled, "everybody take shelter in the Krell's lab."

Jeff was the first to run, gripping Jared's hand.

"Misha, come !" Ackles ordered.

The robot didn't move, merely watched them with longing as he stood his ground while the tear in the glass-like alloy grew bigger and bigger.

Ackles tugged on Jared's other arm and forced him to run faster inside the safety of the Krell's corridors while Jeff ran ahead to the lab door and opened it.

"Misha ! Don't fight, let the monster pass !" Jared yelled through the first corridor door slowly sliding closed, even though he knew it was a lost battle.

Misha was programmed to defend his human family, and he would do it, uncaring of his own fate.

"Misha !!" Jared screamed again when he saw the invisible hand of the monster grip the android and squeeze him hard. He was spared the view of his friend dying by the door finally closing.

Still, Jared tried to escape Ackles' grip to go to his friend's aid but his lover had seen him coming and so Jared had to go on, running like a crazy man until they reached the safety of the Krell's lab.

As soon as Jared was in, Ackles closed the door and fiddled with the lock.

"What are you doing ?" Jeff wondered. "We won't be able to get out of here without the code."

"Don't worry, Professor, I'll remember it. But I'm not giving the monster any chance to come in. And if you know the code, it means it knows it too."

The energy gauges all around the room shone red like his anger, more of them powered than he had ever seen before.

"Dammit ! Will you stop with this nonsense ?!"

"You still don't get it, do you ?"

"I get that you are a dangerous and very delusional man. All the murders happened at night while I was sleeping, or in a coma. And how can I be here and out there at the same time ? Be me _and_ this killing machine ?!"

"Have you ever heard of the id, Professor ?"

"Of course."

"So what is it ?"

"What's the point ? I can tell you already know."

"Please, humor me. For Jared's sake, as you once said to me."

"It's obsolete. It was once used to describe that part of the human mind where unconscious and instinctual needs reside, all those desires that we, as superior beings, control or even reject to be able to live in society."

"These are the last words Adam Harrington pronounced before he died, _'The Krell had forgotten the id.'_ "

"Divagation of a dying man !"

"No, I think on the contrary that he was more lucid than ever. I also think he _was_ the second monster, that he had used the wrong machine in the Krell's lab, or in the wrong way, and it did something to his brain that connected him with the power plant in a way his mind was incapable to handle, getting more confused and incoherent as time passed, his log entries prove it, and especially at night, conscience asleep. Just like you. Just like the Krell. The Krell who weren't annihilated by unknown monsters but by their own savage instincts trying to take over the rest of the population. As advanced and peaceful as they were, they killed each other, because they had forgotten about their own id.

"Their power was more intense, because the machines were designed to fit them, and it resulted in a blood bath that saw the extinction of an entire race in a few hours. In the first months on Jardina 4, you adapted too, and you gained power in your turn. The power to kill all your friends when you couldn't control them anymore, and then your wife when she tried to leave you, taking Jared away with her. This was a betrayal you couldn't forgive, deep down inside. You loved her and hated her in equal measure. Jared was yours. The same happened when we arrived. Your biggest fear had come to life when Jared was offered the opportunity to leave to get a life of his own, forgetting you behind. So the attacks began, you had to get rid of us, destroy the enemy. But the Arcadia and her crew proved to be more difficult to kill than your scientist friends, and Harrington threw a wench into your plans. In less than a week, Adam's monster was already so powerful compared to us, simple human beings, but it stood no chance to win against you, did it ? You had to kill Harrington. He threatened Jared when unconscious, and he dared stepping on your fatherly toes during the day. There could be only one will on Jardina 4, and it's yours."

Jeff felt himself blanching at these revelations, and his eyes grew wide when the triple-layered door guarding the entrance of the lab began to distort in its turn.

"You're wrong about Harrington, he tried to make me change my mind about Jared, to steal him, 'in favor of Starfleet, science and humanity,' he said. But I knew it was all for himself, and I managed to make him confess he was afraid my son would take his job next to you. The fool, believing too that Jared could ever leave me."

"Don't you see it only proves what I'm telling you ? Nothing can save us but you now," Ackles started again, clearly desperate to convince him that he had to do something to call off the beast.

"Dad, I don't understand why you did this, and I don't care. I just want you to listen to Jensen. Save us !"

"But I told you, I can't !"

"I don't want to have to kill you to protect Jared, Professor. You love your son. Everything you've done, you've done for him. The murders, you committed them to protect him, to keep him close to you so you could make sure he was always safe and sound. You have to dig into that sentiment now."

All of the gauges were now illuminated, bright red taking over the whole lab.

"I can't ! You stole my son, you raped him, and that's the only thing I can think of right now."

"He didn't rape me, Dad ! I had to convince him to take me, that I wanted him just as much as he wanted me, maybe even more."

"That's true, Professor. Do you really think I would have made love to him if I didn't know it was his decision, not just mine ?"

"Says the older guy to justify getting the young one in his bed. It's a little convenient, don't you think ? "

"No, it's not," Jared denied. "He could sense my feelings. He used the Krell's machines, and they changed him too."

"I'm sure he's already aware of that," Ackles said, "aren't you, Professor ? You have cameras everywhere in the house and the labs, and I'm pretty sure none of us who came in the last few days have done so without your knowledge."

Jared turned toward him with a disgusted expression.

"This is what rape feels like, I think. Knowing all your life has been spied on and stolen without your knowledge, even your most intimate moments. Nothing private, nothing yours. How could you ?"

"Because you're _my_ son !" Jeff shouted. "And I love you."

"I loved you too, Dad, but not like that."

The door caved in under a last powerful hit that echoed the one Jared's words had punched in his heart, and Jeff had to admit the evidence.

This monster was nothing more than the physical emanation of his fear and selfishness, desire and need, powered by the strong emotions he had always tried to bury. He was responsible for the killings, for his friends' deaths. He had ripped Adrianne apart despite the infinite love he felt for her, or maybe because of it. And he was now setting the monster up to do the same to his son, because Jared loved another man more than him. Wanted to leave him, just like everyone had done before.

He saw Ackles raise his phaser in his direction, ready to kill him if it meant saving Jared, and he knew what he had to do if he wanted Jared to remember him with pride and love.

"Stop !" he cried, putting himself in the beast's path. "You won't harm my son, I will kill you before."

He knew it meant killing himself, but he couldn't care less now. Even when he felt the grip of the monster's hands squeezing him tighter and tighter, breath becoming impossible.

"Dad !" he heard Jared yell in terror, but his voice felt distant.

The grip tightened again and he knew he was dying, maybe already dead. He couldn't define what he felt anymore. It wasn't pain, because at some point nothing hurt on a physical level. It was pure anger, the bliss of not caring about anyone or anything else than his own needs.

There was just himself in a black void.

Jensen cradled Jared's head against his neck to make sure he wouldn't have to watch his father die. He was sorry for the older man but couldn't find in himself the will to feel more than that, not after what so many people had to suffer because of his fear of abandonment and jealousy. So many lost lives, so much hurt, and in a way Morgan was a victim too of the Krell's technology.

"Jared, look !"

The monster had disappeared with the professor's death, the gauges were back to a much lower level, blue bathing the room once again, and from the body lying on the floor rose a filament entity of the same sort they had followed into the generator the previous day. Only this one was more greyish than white, sometimes even charcoal black. This was not something Jensen was inclined to overlook. He detached from his belt the special PADD he had brought to leave behind to be able to check on the professor during their escape – to make sure neither man nor monster was after them – and programmed it to follow the entity, watching it take off before he reached for his communicator.

"Arcadia, locate the three of us in the Krell's lab and Misha in the living room. Beam us all right now !"

He surmised that after the monster's demise, interference gone (the interference that proved once again the beast's ability to adapt to technology after it had been sent away the night it had attacked Murray), the transporter would be able to get a lock and teleport them. Jensen kept his hold on Jared, still crying over his father's death, as he was proven right and the dematerialization process finally worked.

They arrived to find Ty at the transporter console, working in tandem with Kara Royster.

"What happened ? We tried everything we could to get you back but…"

Ty stopped talking when he realized that two of the bodies they had brought in were lying, unmoving. Jared was already kneeling, turning to Misha after confirming that his father was dead. Gil and two nurses rushed past Jensen to take care of the bodies as he bolted down the steps and took hold of Ty's arm.

" Go to the engine room, we're leaving now !"

"What ? But…"

"No buts or anything. If you want us to live, make it work. We're leaving !"

Jensen didn't check on Ty, knowing his orders would be followed at once. He ran to the closest turbolift to take him to the bridge, hearing Jared's footsteps close behind him.

"How can I help ?" Jared asked as the door closed on them and the turbolift sped upward.

It was on his tongue to tell him to stay with Misha and see what could be done for the poor android, but Gil could do that and there was no way Jensen would deny the Arcadia the help of such a brilliant mind. Especially if it could prevent Jared from dwelling too much on the deaths of the people he cared most for and the crumbling of his world. Especially when the answer was so obvious.

"Take Harrington's desk."

Jared went directly to his assigned place and Jensen to his seat.

"All simulations in progress aborted. We're leaving now, cut the control list to the bare minimum, we have to be far away from this planet as soon as possible."

"Aye, Captain," several voices responded.

He knew his crew had sensed the urgency in his voice and would make sure to take off in record time.

"Jared, use the scanners to check the area."

"What am I looking for ?"

"Anything. I want to be sure the monster is really dead, and that the generators aren't going to blow up in our faces."

Deathly pale, Jared turned back to the console and brought the scanner up to check as demanded. Jensen couldn't sit still and he began to pace from one console to the next, regretting that he had nothing to do with his own hands to distract him while they waited for the ship to be ready. Crossing his fingers didn't help much.

Jensen walked to the communication console and bent down to talk to his officer privately as he heard and felt the engines initiate their familiar hum.

"Lieutenant Cortese, send a message to Admiral Beaver to tell him we're leaving now, that Professor Morgan is dead and that, as I thought, he was behind all attacks. Tell him also that his son Jared Palicki-Morgan is with us, as well as the android Misha that we might be able to repair. Finally, tell him that I think we're still in danger."

"Captain ?" Genevieve asked with fearful eyes.

"Don't worry, Gen, we'll get through this," he reassured her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, Captain."

She turned toward her console with all the resolution he knew she was capable of and contacted Starfleet, asking for a private channel to Admiral Beaver.

"Olsson to Captain," the voice of Ty called him back next to his seat. "Captain, we'll be able to take off in a few minutes, but there's still one piece that hasn't been reconnected and we need it for hyperspace."

"Do your best, Mr. Olsson. As I said, we're taking off now. Jared, still nothing to share ?"

"I'm not sure. There have been two or three tiny spikes in energy level, but nothing really remarkable so far."

"Okay, keep at it. Tell me the moment you spot something unusual, even if I'm deep into something else."

"Will do. And it's too bad Misha isn't here to help with that disconnected piece."

Jensen considered him.

"You know what ? You're right."

Jensen hit the comm.

"Captain to Dr. McKinney."

"Yes, Captain."

"How is Misha ?"

"I managed to bring him back, but I'm not sure it's really my own doing. This android has a seriously awesome ability to repair himself. Anyway, tell Jared he'll be okay."

"I think Jared already heard you, Doctor."

The smile on Jared's face was telling enough.

"Do you think he's well enough to help us in the engine room ?"

"What can I do for you, Captain ?" Misha's voice took over.

"I don't know exactly, but go find Ty and he'll tell you."

"On my way."

"Captain," Jared said, blending without thinking with the rest of his crew, "the energy levels are getting higher."

"Lieutenant Cortese, put my PADD's images on screen, as well as the ones filmed by the outside drone."

They had recalled all other drones checking the whole planet during the night but left in place the one over the plains of Metti. The current view of the land and the ancient, empty Krell building a few hundred yards away from their position disappeared at Jensen's request to show a mosaic comprised of the interior of the generator and several views of the land as the drone changed position.

"Captain," Ensign Miner intervened, "I also get a few different energy readings from another part of the house I've never seen before, as if it's now uncloaked. If I'm not mistaken, these are bodies, but they seem asleep, or in stasis maybe."

"Call Ensign Royster. Give her the location and tell her to transport them to the brig. Tell Lieutenant Harris they're under her surveillance. Alert Dr. McKinney but tell him we'll deal with this later."

"Aye, Captain."

"Olsson to bridge. We're ready to go."

"Thanks, Mr. Olsson. Is Misha with you ?"

"He just arrived. I got him to look at the problem."

"Alright. Keep me posted."

As the Arcadia began her ascension through the sky of Jardina 4 under Denebel's watchful presence, Jensen turned his attention again on the screen where what was left of Jeff Morgan was still currently _swimming_ through the plates in the same way Harrington's soul had done only a day before, as if trying to find its way in. Jensen wondered why it didn't go directly to the same spot that had seemed to absorb the white entity. Maybe Morgan, even in this state, was still too much of a lone wolf to want to be absorbed, looking for the energy to expand and become more powerful but not to join a greater conscience.

He wondered if the dead scientists had joined the energy plates twenty years ago, and if the Krell were there too. A whole population, possibly billions of beings whose souls were trapped in dozens of power plants after their biggest dream had turned into a collective nightmare, ensuring they'd live forever but never enjoy a real life.

They entered mesosphere as the entity ran into the red core of the generator, tapping directly into an incredible source of power that got lightning going from the planet to the ship, which veered off on impact.

"Energy higher still, Captain," Jared announced.

"Everyone brace for more impacts," Jensen announced over the comm. "Mr. Buckley, take us into space as quickly as possible."

"Yes, sir."

Jensen checked on Jared, hands gripping tight the console he worked at.

"Enjoying your first space trip ?" he joked to lighten the atmosphere.

"Never a boring moment !" Jared answered in the same tone.

They were badly shaken for a few more seconds as the helmsman did his best to take them out of the atmosphere in record time. Then, finally, the ship was far enough that the lightning couldn't reach her anymore.

"When can we expect hyperdrive, Mr. Olsson ?" Jensen hailed his chief engineer.

"We're doing our best, Captain, but Sampson discovered a leak we have to take care of."

"Very well, we're counting on you to clear the area quickly."

With nothing else to do but watch the events unfold on the planet, Jensen got to see new filaments floating through the generator room. These had a blue tint that convinced him immediately that they were the Krell he had wondered about, freed somehow from the prison of their own making by Morgan's actions. As he observed the phenomena, more and more filaments escaped from the plates, invading the huge room in a maelstrom of color and light. Some of them even came to poke at the PADD to make sure no danger would come through it. Before they lost contact, Jensen got to see some of the filaments enter the shuttle and guessed they would soon invade the other levels. The other power plants.

He had never imagined doing the same trip back with a ship still in need of repairs, flying so slowly that the eye could distinguish every planet and satellite they were passing by. His patience was tested, and with it probably that of every crew member. And he couldn't forget that they were getting very close to the point of the original incident that had brought this whole adventure on. The meteoric field that had suddenly gone crazy and lashed at them with all it had, disabling the ship.

If this happened again, they wouldn't be able to land on Jardina 4, whatever the damage to the Arcadia. They had to get through, as quickly as possible.

"Permission to disengage the force field, Captain ?" Ty's voice interfered with his thoughts. "We could use the power for just about everything else."

"Sorry, Ty, not just yet."

"If you don't mind my asking, what's the use ?"

"Have you ever wondered if the space storm that forced us to land on Jardina 4 in the first place wasn't in fact something else ? All the damages, didn't they remind you of other attacks we've suffered since then ?"

"You're saying that the monster attacked to force us to land there ?"

"I rather think it wanted either to kill us or stop us from coming closer, and it using natural cosmic elements had us fooled at that time. But think about it : all those machines in the Krell's labs, there had to be at least one of them able to monitor ships passing by. It was easy for Morgan to pick up on this and make sure no one would approach. This time, though, I don't think this will be an either / or situation if it catches up with us."

"Right, Captain, I get it. No disengaging the force field."

Jared stayed at Jensen's side, back ramrod straight.

"What's bothering you ?" Jensen asked him.

"You mean apart from the danger we're in ?" he tried to joke but made a real poor attempt to sell it.

"Apart from that, yes."

Jared scratched his eyebrow.

"I was just wondering if there was any way to know how many ships had been destroyed over the years by the monster. The Arcadia hardly made it out of the meteoric storm. What about smaller or older vessels ?"

There was indeed no telling how many lives had been lost to Morgan's monstrous need for seclusion. And it wasn't long before Jensen's theory was proven by a violent collision that sent them careening all over the place, just like the day they had first traveled through this space. Only the toughness of the force field prevented them from being crushed and severed in two.

All alarms sounded, the bridge taking on a red light.

"All personnel to battle station," Jensen ordered through the comm. "Photon torpedoes ready to launch. Shoot on sight."

It was ten nerve-wracking minutes that followed, in a game of galactic pool they had little chance to win. As one of the most qualified shooters on this ship, Jensen quit his captain seat to help with the long-range lasers, but even then there were far too many meteors to destroy them all and, at the speed they were going, they would be like sitting ducks for hours before they managed to get out of the field.

Jensen hit the comm.

"Ty, we need the hyperdrive yesterday !"

"I know, Captain, but if the calibration isn't perfect, we're gonna fly right through the nearest sun."

"What did Misha say ?"

"He's pissed at himself for not being ab… Misha, where are you ? Misha ? What ? No !"

"What did he do ?" Jared asked before Jensen had time.

"He's put his hand in the… Captain, you have to see this !"

"I'm a bit busy on the bridge right now. Jared, go and see if you can help."

"Yes, Captain."

He saw the gratitude in Jared's eyes before he ran to the turbolift to assist his friend. Even before enough time had passed for Jared to have arrived in the engine room, Jensen felt the familiar thrum of the hyperdrive kicking in, confirmed by the ensign at the engine console.

"You have a course, Mr. Wester ?"

"Yes, sir."

"So get us out of here, Mr. Buckley !"

"Aye, Captain !"

It took them a few minutes to clear out the meteoric field and put some distance between them. No important new damage was reported, thanks to the force field. Then Jensen got them out of hyperspace to reestablish the connection with the drone and see what was now happening. While he made his way to the engine room, he ordered the liaison to be available down there so that he could watch directly with Jared and Misha.

But Misha was unconscious, again. His hand was connected to the hyperdrive piece Ty had complained about, a protuberance chiseled to the exact specifications needed built out of his arm to restore hyperdrive function. Jared and Gil were kneeling next to him, the doctor fussing with a line going from Jared's arm to Misha's.

"You're giving him blood ?"

"Misha's been contaminated by the hyperdrive coolant, and Jared's is the most compatible we've got. His mom used hers to build the android."

"Is he going to be okay ?"

"I guess. But I'd like to get him out of here."

"Ty's working on it ?"

"He is," Jared confirmed.

Jensen got hold of a wall PADD and brought it close to the group.

"Look, I don't think it's going to last much longer now."

In the time they had been otherwise engaged, the surface of Jardina 4 they could see had been covered with blueish filament entities. The planet seemed to shrink on itself as the minutes went, as if devoured by famished creatures. Suddenly, an explosion detonated on the southeast continent, that Jensen attributed to one of the generators, then followed by many, like a trail going from one point to another, crisscrossing the planet and devastating everything in its wake.

Jared made a pitiful sound as he watched his planet succumbing to the power of the Krell's dream and finally imploding. The consecutive blast destroyed the drone and the screen went black. Jensen let go of the PADD to be able to take Jared in his arms without disrupting the transfusion.

Misha came around soon enough. There was little color on his face but he was mostly coherent. Ty replaced his arm with the piece they had finished at last to shape as needed and Gil got to transport Misha back to medbay for the second time this day.

When Jensen came to visit him later, it was to find Jared already there.

"Don't ever scare me like that again, you hear me ?" Jared was bawling him out. "Twice ! You never even asked me what I thought of your crazy plans."

"I wasn't aware that I needed your permission to do my duty. If anything, it should be me deciding for you, like I did when you were a kid."

"Dream on, man. Technically you're younger than me, so from now on, I'm calling the shots."

Jensen took in the show offered by the two men, acting like two brothers bickering over who gets to command their pretend army of Lego soldiers.

"Well," he said, approaching the bed, "as the captain, I overrule both of you and I need your input."

"I'd be happy to help, Captain."

"Good ! If Dr. McKinney agrees, I need you to come with me."

"Dr. McKinney agrees," Gil answered from the other side of medbay.

Jensen took the android and Jared to the brig where the bodies they had transported were still waiting, tended to by one of Ty's technicians and a nurse.

"We retrieved them from a chamber deep inside the Krell's labs right before we left," Jensen explained. "Does one of you know who or what they are ?"

Jared got closer to one of the pod-like compartments and gasped when he saw himself lying in it. Misha didn't seem so surprised, not even by the fact that there were more than one Jared, and even more Jeff Morgans.

"Misha ?" Jared said. "Did you know about this ?"

"I did, but your father had made me swear secrecy."

"What were they for ?" Jensen asked.

"They were supposed to allow both my creator and his son to gain eternal life. Those bodies are made just like I was, they just need a soul to animate them."

"You mean a brain ? And the professor was able to do that ?"

"No, but Addy was after she studied in the Krell's library, and I was taught to do it too."

Jared seemed to be left speechless by yet another secret of his father's and Jensen sensed his misery. He authorized Misha to work on the bodies with his crewmen, not knowing what to do with them right now. Something in him hated the idea to abandon Jared's look-alikes to Starfleet and he couldn't imagine how that made Jared feel.

Instead of going back to the bridge, Jensen led Jared to his bedroom that they would share from now on. There was a uniform of the scientific division waiting for Jared in his closet. The door had been changed and they had all the privacy they wanted to talk about this latest development.

"How do you feel ?" Jensen asked as he took Jared in his arms and kissed him.

"I hate the idea that he created those bodies, and yet… Why didn't he build a body for my mother if he had mastered the technique ? He still wanted her, he had Misha playing her !"

"It was a long time ago. Maybe he wasn't ready yet. Maybe he tried and it didn't work, so having Misha morph into her was the next best solution."

"What are you going to do with them ?"

"I don't know. I'm supposed to deliver them over to Starfleet but I don't know. We have time to talk about it before we get to Earth."

"Okay. Hold me tight, Jensen, and make me forget about everything."


	17. Chapter 17

Jared smoothed out the uniform he had just taken off. The first night on board the Arcadia, he had been incapable to take it off, wanting to feel he belonged to the crew despite his lack of rank or official studies. Only Jensen's loving hands had managed the next morning to rid him of the garment to go take a shower. Now, after a few weeks in space among the crew of the ship who had done nothing but make him feel a part of them, he felt he still had trouble getting undressed at night, making sure he had at least one blue shirt spotless and ready to be worn in the morning, and that Jensen was there to catch him inside the cradle of his strong arms.

He did his best every day to prove his worth, helping wherever he could, filling especially Harrington's place to the best of his ability. There was a lot he didn't know in terms of chain of command or what the rest of the staff called "paperwork" even though it didn't involve any kind of old-fashioned paper, but everyone was there to help him, and Jensen was always helpful and understanding.

Jared knew he had found his place, that he wanted to stay here with this new family that had opened its collective arms to make him feel like he belonged. But wanting and getting were two different things that required a few years through the Starfleet Academy to mesh at last.

"Do I really have to leave you ?" Jared asked for the umpteenth time as he slid into bed next to Jensen. "Can't you pull some strings to keep me with you ?"

"Considering everything you already know, it's not a stretch of the imagination to think you might be able to complete the course in two years, three at most, instead of the usual four. Then you might be posted somewhere else, where you can prove that you don't need the Arcadia's crew to be your wonderful self. So yes, we'll be separated for a while, but only so you can stay by my side afterward. And I'll be on Earth as often as I'm able to."

"Two years without making love to you every day ? Can you imagine that ?"

Jensen didn't want to imagine it any more than he would have to live through it. But he had to think of Jared's future. Their future, together, and the Academy was the way to go. Besides, what kind of relationship would they have if it couldn't stand the strain of temporary separation ?

"I've never been alone," Jared added. "My father was always there for me."

"And it's part of the process of growing up, becoming your own man, to go away from your family and learn to be self-reliant. I have complete faith in you. Besides, I'm pretty sure Misha won't be far from you."

There was a new gravitas to Jared when he answered.

"I love Misha, but he might want to live his own life too, and I'm not in love with him. You're the one I need."

"And you have me. I'll make sure to get in touch as often as possible, and you can do the same. To be honest, I'm more worried that you'll love your studies and your classmates so much that you'll forget all about me and the Arcadia."

"Never !"

Jared had already planned to sell his name and reputation, not to mention the intelligence Jensen raved about, for the highest price. If the Academy wanted him as much as Jensen seemed to think they did, then surely they would agree to his deal : two years at most, and then a guaranteed posting for him and Misha on any ship Jensen commanded or anywhere else he got to work.

The idea of being two years without Jensen was too depressing to accept anything more.

"What's on your mind, love ?"

Jared sighed, deeply.

"I can't get out of my mind the idea that my dad wanted to kill me."

Jensen closed his arms around him.

"I don't think so."

"He was the monster. The monster went after us. After me. He tried to kill me. Ergo, my father wanted to kill me."

"Okay, I understand why you'd see it that way. But I rather think he was trying to get you back, to keep you with him, because maybe he loved you too much. The machines probably enhanced all his fears and bad traits as well as his abilities and qualities. He saw you as his, couldn't imagine living without you. He had to do something to make you stay, and that's why the monster came back. He might not have been able to control it in the end, but I'm sure he never wanted to get you killed."

"But that's it. That's not love. That’s seclusion. And what about the fact that he went after you to separate us ? He needed me to be his thing, his possession. He couldn't stand the fact that I was in love with you, as if I was like him and couldn't love more than one person at a time, as if I needed to be everything for you and I would forget him."

Jensen didn't argue anymore. It would take time for Jared to come to terms with the way everything had gone down and his dad's betrayal.

"Now you've got me, and I'm there for you, in any way you need me."

Jared hid his face in Jensen's neck.

"I don't want to leave you," he murmured, coming back to his deepest fear. "Will they even let me land on Earth ? I've never been there. Worse, I was born on Jardina 4. I read stories about the way people on Earth were stopped at the frontiers and sent back into their warring countries or abandoned to rot in refugee camps."

"Well, that was a long time ago, we're not doing that anymore. Plus your parents were from Earth, and there's no community to claim you on Jardina 4. Not to mention the fact that you are the son of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and probably just as smart and learned as he was, so I say you're fairly sure to be welcomed with open arms. But if none of this works, there's a last solution to make sure you'll be granted citizenship."

"What is it ?"

Jensen kissed him hard.

"To marry a Starfleet officer from Earth."

-FIN-


End file.
